PART THREE

Reading and
Writing about
Multiple Texts

9 Comparing Texts
10 Synthesizing Texts
11 Arguing with Texts
Spotlight on Student Writing: Argumentative
Synthesis Essay
CHAPTER 9
COMPARING TEXTS

After reading this chapter, you will be able to

• Read to identify parallel points of comparison.

• Take notes on a reading by listing, charting, or diagramming
to compare information.
• Apply organizational patterns for comparing or contrasting, such
as the block method and point-by-point method.
• Write a compare-contrast thesis statement.
• Plan a compare-contrast essay.
• Develop transitions between paragraphs.

Theme: Should We Support a Universal

Basic Income?

Comparing (to note similarities) and contrasting (to point out differences) should
be purposeful: to help understand issues, make a judgment, and arrive at a con-
clusion about what is being compared. For instance, contrasting two management
models might lead to conclusions about which style might better fit the industry
in which you want to work, while comparing approaches to policing may suggest
which is most effective to keep citizens safe.
In this chapter, you will compare and contrast arguments for and against
universal basic income. Universal basic income (or UBI) is essentially a payment,
typically by a government to its citizens, with the intent that people receiving a
guaranteed amount of money each year can live above the poverty line. In explor-
ing the chapter’s theme, you will consider the advantages and disadvantages of
this approach to financially aiding individuals and therefore whether such an
approach is worth supporting.

224
READING TO IDENTIFY PARALLEL POINTS
Before comparing and contrasting, ensure there is a basis for comparison; that
is, ensure there is enough in common to justify the comparison or contrast. For
instance, it might not make sense to compare an opera singer to a rapper, because
they are two very different singers; but it might make sense to compare one opera
star to another, or one rap artist to another.
To begin, you can make a list, chart, or diagram to understand these simi-
larities and differences, then determine whether a basis for comparison exists
(Figure 9.1). Do not be overly concerned at first whether your points are
accurate; as you read and research the topic, you can confirm or revise your
initial ideas.
As you list similarities and differences, look for parallels—related or
matching characteristics—between the things being compared or contrasted.
For instance, the title of one article, “Would a Universal Basic Income
Make Us Lazy or Creative?” suggests giving people money might be a
disincentive to work (and therefore “make us lazy”) or might be a motivating
force to encourage people to take on interesting projects (and therefore
“make us . . . creative”). So, work incentive is a parallel point of comparison
in this case.
If you can align points in this way, the comparison will be more logical.
Not all points in an argument, however, have parallel points of comparison.
For instance, someone might argue that a universal basic income would allow
parents to stay home to raise their children. There may be no parallel point
in response.
When reading to compare or contrast two (or more) things, make notes about
the similarities and differences between the objects of your comparison. You can
make notes on the text itself or pull out the main points of comparison from the
reading to see them clearly, to quote or summarize these, and to organize them
in a table or chart.

FIGURE 9.1 Listing Ideas about UBI

Arguments for UBI Arguments against UBI

• Everyone gets a salary • Some people work to earn money;

others do not
• Eliminates government entitlement pro- • Creates a new, expensive government
grams, such as welfare and food stamps bureaucracy
• Shows people they are valued as • Devalues and discourages going
human beings to work

• Parents can stay at home to raise

their children

225
 READING SELECTION
“A UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME: WHAT
DIFFERENCE MIGHT IT MAKE?”

Before Reading: Predict

Write answers to the following questions using complete sentences.
1. What do you think might be some advantages of a universal basic
income? Why might some people support UBI?
2. What might be some disadvantages of a universal basic income? Why
might some people oppose a UBI?

During Reading: Annotate

3. As you read and reread, annotate the reading by noting the advan-
tages and/or the arguments in support of a UBI and the disadvantages
and/or the arguments against a UBI. Be alert for parallel points—related
or matching characteristics—to use for understanding the arguments
on both sides.

A Universal Basic Income: What Difference Might It Make?

By Christine Morley, Phillip Ablett, and Jenni Mays
Social Alternatives, August 2019
Social Alternatives is a journal promoting discussion about contemporary social, political,
economic, and environmental issues. One volume was devoted to debate over universal basic
income. This reading selection is an excerpt; the excerpt compares UBI to the current system
of government financial support and considers the advantages and criticisms of UBI. Note
that the journal uses English spelling conventions and follows Harvard referencing style.

Universal Basic Income

Unlike our current system of income support, a Universal Basic Income (UBI hereafter) 1
is paid to each citizen, not a family or household, regardless of income or assets; and
it is obligation-free, which means it is a right that is not tied to work requirements
(Scialabba 2017; Van Parijs 1991, 1992, 2005).
Instead of blaming victims, as is evident in our current system, BI recognises that 2
capitalist economies have failed to provide adequate paid employment opportunities for
all who need them, and that this situation may worsen in the future unless radical policy
changes occur. Hence BI can act as a safety net to prevent precariousness. As Steensland
(2006: 1289) states: BI is ‘premised on a structural view of poverty that challenge[s] the

226
normative and programmatic grounds for categorizing the poor based upon their
perceived worthiness’.
Commenting on the US context, Steensland (2006) suggests liberal capitalist 3
societies do not guarantee a BI security for all citizens because of our embeddedness
in notions of the ‘undeserving poor’, with the corresponding view that some members of
society are not worthy of government assistance. Our current system punishes people who
accept the low-income, training-poor jobs that generally represent the only employment
options available to welfare-recipients.
Conversely, given that BI is designed as a universal scheme, recipients are not 4
subjected to judgement, ridicule and stigmatisation (Van Parijs 2005: 14). In addition,
because BI provides a regular income (regardless of paid work), it removes the poverty
trap associated with accepting low paying jobs (or even worse, poverty traps of income
support programmes that claw back earnings from paid work); thus creating an incentive
to work for BI recipients by increasing incomes (Scialabba 2017; Van Parijs 2005: 4).
This is appealing for proponents of BI, both on the left and right of politics. Moreover, it
redresses the costly over-bureaucratisation of the existing system by removing administrative
complexities associated with targeting and assessing for eligibility (Jenkins 2019: 29;
Tomlinson 1991).
The precarious nature of work reflects our current context in which the power of 5
unions, and consequently industrial conditions, have been significantly eroded in many
sectors since the Work Choices legislation by the conservative Howard Government in
2005 (Commonwealth of Australia 2005). This has exacerbated casualised, uncertain,
potentially exploitative working conditions, which solidify the disadvantage experienced
by the precariat (Standing 2014). A key benefit of BI in this context is the steady income
it will provide for those with precarious work (Standing 2014; Stern, 2016). Given the
significant correlation between unstable income and mental distress (Ferguson 2017),
Jenkins (2019: 27) points out ‘Obviously, a GBI [Guaranteed Basic Income] would
reduce the anxiety and income instability of this situation, providing a cushion for those
who cannot work’ (Jenkins 2019: 27); and also reduce the stress-related adverse health
impacts of continually having to look for a job (Howgego 2019). Moreover, a BI would
allow ‘people to choose not to work for periods of time or to refuse to work for
inadequate remuneration’ (Jenkins 2019: 27). Therefore, a BI would significantly reduce
the vulnerability experienced by the precariat because it would provide the financial
means to leave workplaces that do not offer reasonable conditions. As Jenkins (2019: 28)
notes, workers who are not treated well would be able to withdraw from exploitative or
unjust conditions with BI providing a ‘permanent strike fund’. She further notes that ‘It
is possible that a GBI could mobilize individuals into looser, more ad-hoc collectivities
that are better suited to contemporary forms of precarious or contract labour than more
bureaucratized institutions such as trade unions’ (Jenkins 2019: 28). Observing this
almost three decades ago, Van Parijs (1991: 105) similarly argued that: ‘. . . there is no
doubt that an unconditional income confers upon the weakest more bargaining power in
their dealings with both potential employers and the state’ (Van Parijs 1991: 105).
In improving industrial freedoms, a BI could also potentially insulate workers 6
against the poverty resulting from expected mass job losses associated with increasing
automation of the labour market. While some commentators fear that introducing a BI
could lead to an acceleration of job losses created by technology (Bruun and Duka 2018;

227
 Jenkins 2019), others researching the impact of technological advances suggest that
significant job losses will occur (Ford 2015) with or without a BI. According to Savchuk
(2019: 44), for example, ‘A growing chorus of Silicon Valley executives ha[ve] called [a
universal basic income] policy inevitable, as automation threatens to displace one-third
of American workers by 2030, raising the spectre of unemployed masses rioting in
the streets’. Savchuk (2019: 44; see also Standing 2014) further notes that the rapid
consequences of technology for employment have initiated several BI trials in places
including Barcelona, Namibia, Canada, Finland, Kenya, India, Uganda, and Switzerland.
These BI pilots are crucial for creating the conditions for implementing a BI and
embedding environmental justice, liberty, gender equality, social and democratic
citizenship, a flexible and just labour market and shared ownership of the commons
(Young and Mulvale 2009: 3).
Moving beyond right-to-work initiatives, which frame ‘work’ narrowly in terms of 7
a paid employment, a key benefit of BI is that it provides an opportunity to choose an
occupation, whether that role is paid or not. Hence BI offers a potential redefinition
of work that involves valuing ‘activities that combine creativity, conceptual and analytic
thought and manual or physical use of aptitudes’ (Perez 2003 cited in Harvey 2005: 8;
see also Scialabba 2017: 20) that may have a range of potential benefits for society as
a whole. Furthermore, the concept of BI potentially transforms ‘work’ from being a
commodity that is regarded only for its exchange value, or its capacity to foster the
acquisition of more material resources, into a much wider proposition (Jenkins 2019: 27).
This redefinition of work potentially has implications for addressing the devaluing of
‘women’s work’, including community work and unpaid child care and domestic labour
in the private sphere. It enables people (including men) to devote time to such socially
necessary and valuable labour (Howgego 2019). While a BI would not facilitate this
directly, ‘indirectly[,] it could set into motion a variety of forces that de-stratify the very
notion of women’s work’ (Jenkins 2019: 31). Other gender equity promoting potential
impacts of BI include opening up options for women’s further education or occupations
of their choice. As an individual provision, women would have greater financial security,
bargaining power, and the means to leave violent relationships (Jenkins 2019: 31).
BI’s transformation of ‘work’ from being a commodity that is only thought of for its 8
exchange value, involves a shift to a more inclusive construction that offers choice and
opportunity to pursue sustainable, meaningful activities (Jenkins, 2019: 32). Van Parijs
(1991) argues that in de-commodifying the idea of work, BI aligns with social and
environmental justice in the pursuit of sustainable lifestyles that are not resource intensive.

Concerns about a Universal Basic Income (BI)

Indeed, BI offers much hope in eradicating poverty, contributing to a more socially just 9
society. However, not everyone shares this view (Harvey 2005; Maskivker 2018; Tcherneva
and Wray 2008: 3; Young and Mulvale 2009). Young and Mulvale (2009: 4) summarise the
key concerns about BI as 1) providing a disincentive to work, 2) being too expensive to
be politically viable and 3) formalising a lack of reciprocity, that is giving resources to
those who may apparently ‘contribute nothing in return’ (see Elster 1986; White 1997).
As critical educators, we find these critiques uncompelling: Firstly, there is no 10
evidence to support the notion that a BI provides a disincentive to work. Within a
capitalist society, it is unlikely that people will cease to desire material possessions

228
beyond that which they will be able to afford with a BI. Indeed for two years from
December 2016, the Finnish government conducted a trail of BI with 2000 people who
were unemployed. At the conclusion of the experiment they found when comparing the
income, employment status and general wellbeing of this group with a control group
of 5000 who continued to receive the usual unemployment benefits, there was little
variation in the number of days employed; this indicated that the BI provided no
disincentive to work. However, the trial did impact the group receiving the BI in positive
ways, as they reported significantly less stress and better health than the control group
(Howgego 2019).
Secondly, while some critics (such as Harvey 2005) talk about the high cost of BI 11
as being prohibitive to implementation, we reject this claim, acknowledging that the
potential taxation base of our nation is considerable. In our view, introducing a wealth
tax and appropriately taxing the rich, would be absolutely necessary to ensure that
the BI is adequately funded and can genuinely provide an adequate standard of living.
Australia’s untapped taxation revenue is considerable and could indeed be used to fund
a BI. According to the Australian Tax Office’s third tax transparency report (cited in
Hutchens 2017) 36% of multi-national firms and large companies paid next to no tax,
even when they received excessively large revenues (such as Adani’s $724 million
revenue; see Hutchens 2017 for full list). If we were to tax these companies at the
same rate as individuals who earn over $180,000 (that is at 45%), the potential tax from
these companies alone would be enough to sustain a full BI and introduce tax equity
(Stevens and Simpson 2017: 120).
Thirdly, any critique about the lack of reciprocity denies the many ways that people 12
make contributions to society that are unpaid. Their contributions may be significant even
though they are not recognised. We would also point to Sayer’s (2016) argument that
highlights how costly the wealthy elite’s monopoly of resources is for the rest of humanity.
Critiques of BI that are more arguably persuasive include that it would not 13
recompense involuntarily unemployed workers for their lack of waged labour (Harvey
2005). We agree, but if paid at a level that is above the poverty line and appropriately
indexed, BI would protect people against poverty and related stresses including the
stigmatisation associated with being a welfare recipient. Harvey (2005: 29) warns that a
BI would not ‘compensate people who preferred non-waged employment for the work
they performed’. This is not entirely accurate as many people engage in unpaid work
without compensation or recognition. Setting BI at an adequate level supports people to
pursue unpaid activities of their choosing, which in itself is compensatory. Further, many
‘non-waged’ citizens spend their time hunting for jobs that do not exist (Watts 2016: 77)
instead of performing other labour that might be preferable and productive. Harvey
(2005: 29-30) also notes that BI ‘would be unlikely to lead to any increase in the
availability of paid employment for those people who want it’ and ‘could not be counted
on to force an improvement in the quality of low wage work and might even cause it to
decline’. We would agree with the first point, for BI makes no claim about increasing
paid employment opportunities. We also concede that it would not necessarily improve
the quality of employment; but if people had a reliable BI, as noted earlier, they would
not be forced to accept poor quality work in order to survive.
Harvey (2005) argues that ‘rather than eliminating “bad” jobs, a BI guarantee 14
might subsidize them, allowing employers to lower wages rather than raise them’

229
 (Harvey 2005: 36). Related to this, other critics suggest BI may ‘make it even easier for
capital to dictate its terms to labour, since they know that workers will be taken care of by
the state’ (Gorz 1999: 82). Outlining an alarming scenario, (Gorz 1999: 82) suggests that in
addition to widespread dismissals and lowering wages, ‘employers might defer wage demands
back to the state and tell unions to negotiate with public bodies in order to increase their
GBI allocations’. We agree, particularly within our neoliberal policy dominated context, that
these are concerns are valid. Current legislation that allows exploitative practices and
insecure conditions must be changed to improve the industrial protections of all workers.
This should include protections of the minimum wage so that BI is not able to be used to
merely ‘subsidize capital’ (Gorz 1999: 82). We also emphasise that while BI should replace
other kinds of direct income support that are means tested and stigmatised, it must not be
used to justify any cuts to other social security measures that support health, education,
welfare and other kinds of social infrastructure (Jenkins 2019: 28).

After Reading: Summarizing to Compare

Refer to the preceding Reading Selection as you answer the following
questions. Write your answers in complete sentences.
4. Identify at least three points in this Reading Selection that you could
use to compare the advantages and disadvantages of universal basic
income, or to compare the arguments for and against universal basic
income.
5. In your own words, write a summary of the advantages and disadvan-
tages of universal basic income, or the arguments for or against
universal basic income from the article, using the points you identified
in question 4.

Engage with the Reading

1. Which advantages cited in the article might make you want to support
universal basic income? Explain.
2. Which disadvantages might make you not want to support universal
basic income? Explain.

COMPARING SOURCES AND

SYNTHESIZING INFORMATION
To continue the example from the preceding section, if you are considering the
arguments for and against universal basic income, you might begin by listing your
own ideas, then read to gather more information and ideas. You can synthesize
the information from your reading with your initial ideas in several ways.
1. Incorporate information under an existing parallel point. For instance, if you
included a point of comparison about the value of work, you might add a
quote or summarized example that illustrates that point from the reading.

230
 Comparing Sources and Synthesizing Information 231

2. Create a new point. For example, if you discover from your research that
government programs have not been consistently implemented and that stud-
ies on universal basic income have not always been well designed, a new
point might be about the research into universal basic income—whether it
offers proof that universal basic income will work as intended.
3. Alter an existing category. For instance, you might revise your point about
“everyone gets a salary” if you find out that universal basic income programs
do not apply to people above a certain income level.
4. Relocate information. For example, if you realize your initial idea that “Par-
ents can stay at home to raise their children” is similar to an example in the
reading about taking care of elderly parents or homeschooling children, you
could group these examples together.

Reading to Synthesize Additional Information

Have you ever brainstormed about a topic? If so, you probably have experienced
that sometimes the first idea that pops into your head is not as good as the
second or third or even fifth idea. In fact, the point of brainstorming is to get
lots of ideas in the expectation of getting better ideas.
In the same way, reading more about a topic can help you be a better writer
by giving you more ideas and information about the topic. Reading can provide
new thoughts or new ways of considering a topic, which in turn can help you
write a more informed essay than you otherwise might. So, as you read and take
notes, do not worry about having too much information. Usually, it is better to
have too many ideas and more information than you will actually use. Later, you
can select the most relevant or important points for your writing. A sound strat-
egy is to keep reading about your topic until you feel you are no longer learning
anything new.

READING SELECTION
“AMERICA’S REAL ‘FREEDOM DIVIDEND’:
HARD WORK AND PRO-BUSINESS POLICIES”

Before You Read: Preview

Answer the following questions in complete sentences.
1. Consider the article’s title. What do you think the author will argue
about universal basic income?
2. The author, Larry Elder, is a conservative. What values do conserva-
tives support? Do you think these values would lead to supporting or
to opposing a universal basic income?
 During Reading: Annotation
3. As you read and reread, annotate the reading by noting the advan-
tages and/or the arguments in support of universal basic income and
the disadvantages and/or the arguments against universal basic income.
Be alert for parallel points—related or matching characteristics—to use
for analyzing the advantages and disadvantages.

America’s Real “Freedom Dividend”: Hard Work and Pro-Business Policies

By Larry Elder
The Epoch Times, 29 December 2019
Larry Elder is a nationally syndicated conservative radio talk show host, author, and
filmmaker. In this opinion piece, Elder uses the term “freedom dividend,” which was coined
by Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang to refer to a universal basic income.

Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang is on to something: Americans could 1

use a big “freedom dividend”—that is, a guaranteed source of income on which they can
rely month after month, free from the uncertainties of the job market and employment.
But like many Democrats’ ideas, Yang’s otherwise brilliant insight is corrupted 2
by an ideology that strangely sees the government as the engine of wealth creation
and distribution.
Yang’s plan to provide a universal basic income of $1,000 per month to every 3
American over age 18 sounds pretty good. All that money could go toward education,
health care, job retraining, or even housing assistance for everyday Americans. It also
could be wasted with mindless consumer spending on things like clothing, electronics,
or even drugs.
Yes, average American families need more money. But what they don’t need is yet 4
another government bureaucracy that will tax and administer this so-called dividend,
which would really be a loan. The United States is sinking under the weight of financial
obligations that have burgeoned over the years from a commonsense approach to helping
aging citizens—Social Security and Medicaid—into a gargantuan system of bureaucracy
and debt our nation no longer can afford.
In fact, entitlement spending has become so politically sacrosanct that even modest 5
attempts to reform the system by, for example, enacting sliding age requirements to
Social Security based on the increasing life expectancy of retirees, have been met with
howls of opposition. Once someone believes the government “owes” them something, it
creates a sense of ownership and entitlement—and, ultimately, dependency—that prevents
them from making rational choices about how to work, how to save, and how to make
healthier choices that ultimately could reduce the need for catastrophic health care.
A better idea would be for Americans to create their own dividend by working hard, 6
saving, and ultimately investing their money in a way that provides them with a constant
income. For example, about $240,000 invested at a relatively “safe” rate of 5 percent per
year—achievable without incurring undue investment risk—would provide a dividend of
about $12,000 per year. But more importantly, the work and discipline it would require

232
 for the average person to save that amount would provide far more personal security than
a government handout. Furthermore, the productive capacity that it would take to earn
more than $200,000 would greatly aid our nation in terms of overall economic growth.
Contrary to popular belief, and even current Federal Reserve policy, government 7
money doesn’t grow on printing presses. It comes from taxes paid by workers and
businesses on their earned income. If people are disincentivized to work because of
a guaranteed handout from the government, there will be fewer people available to
actually pay the tens of billions of dollars in new taxes it would take to fund this new
entitlement Yang envisions.
Proponents claim that guaranteeing basic income would create an economic 8
multiplier that could grow GDP.
“Overall, the cost of the freedom dividend will be offset by new revenue, fiscal 9
savings, and economic growth. Areas where we’ll see fiscal savings include the reduction
of health care costs, lower incarceration rates, reduced homelessness, and bureaucratic
downsizing. Additionally, the freedom dividend will boost GDP, increase consumer
spending, create jobs, and lead to more tax revenue,” said S.Y. Lee, national press
secretary for the Yang campaign.
It’s obvious that Lee’s argument rests on a sleight of hand. What proponents of 10
universal basic income claim is that when the government actually gives people money,
it saves what it would have to spend down the line curing the ills of poverty—bad health,
incarceration, and government assistance in other forms. But this rests on a major
assumption: that the government should be in the business of providing expensive social
services in the first place.
Government health care, for example, has proven to be a major fiasco in this country. 11
Despite spending more on health care than any other country—more than $1 trillion in
2018—U.S. health outcomes, including life expectancy, have declined in recent years.
More importantly, our “health span,” or the amount of time people can maintain healthy,
productive lives, has declined in the age of massive health care bureaucracies fed by
government spending.
A real American freedom dividend would involve putting in place probusiness 12
policies, such as deregulation and lowering taxes, and labor market policies, such as
reducing illegal immigrant labor competition. These policies don’t require the government
to spend a thing—or require it to spend less—while at the same time removing barriers
to employment and economic growth.
Investing in business and job growth produces actual dividends, not, like Yang’s 13
proposal, tens of billions of dollars of new government debt.

After Reading: Summarize

Refer to the preceding Reading Selection as you answer the following
questions. Follow the instructions for each exercise.
4. Identify at least three parallel points in the reading that you could use
to compare or contrast the advantages and disadvantages of a univer-
sal basic income, or to compare and contrast the arguments for or
against a universal basic income.

233
234 9 Comparing Texts

5. In your own words, write a summary of the advantages and disad-

vantages of universal basic income, or the arguments for or against
universal basic income from the article, using the parallel points you
identified in question 4.

Engage with the Reading

1. Which advantages cited in the article might make you want to support
universal basic income? Explain.
2. Which disadvantages cited in the article might make you not want to
support universal basic income? Explain

Organizational Methods
Juggling more than one subject in a single piece of writing can be tricky.
For example, writing about two (or more) subjects requires presenting the
similarities and differences in a balanced and clear way. Two traditional
formats for organizing comparison or contrast essays can help:
• The block method
• The point-by-point method

Block Method. The block method of organization focuses on one subject (such
as arguments in favor of universal basic income), including all the supporting infor-
mation; this discussion would be “block” number 1. Then the process switches to
writing about the second subject (such as arguments in opposition to universal basic
income), including all the supporting information; this discussion would be “block”
number 2. A block could be one paragraph or several paragraphs depending on the
number of parallel points and the length of the discussion needed for each.
To create continuity between the two blocks, parallel points (such as cost to
the government and impact on work) would be discussed within each block. This
creates a logical, consistent connection between the subjects. An outline of the
body of an essay using the block method would deal first with one subject and
then with the next (Figure 9.2).
An advantage of the block method is that one topic is discussed thoroughly
and then the other topic is also discussed in depth. A disadvantage is that the
essay could end up seeming like unconnected lists of details about each topic.
To ensure continuity, use transitions when discussing the second topic, such as
“In the same way . . .” or “In contrast to. . . .” This will help readers remember
information about the first topic and understand how the two topics are related.
Point-by-Point Method. The point-by-point method moves back and forth
between the two subjects throughout the essay. For instance, within one para-
graph the writer may focus on comparisons or contrasts between parallel points,
or a writer might compose one paragraph about one point, then in the following
paragraph compare the same parallel point. In this way, the parallel points are
discussed close together in the essay, before moving on to a new parallel point.
Figure 9.3 shows a sample outline for a point-by-point comparison or contrast of
arguments for and against universal basic income.
 Comparing Sources and Synthesizing Information 235

FIGURE 9.2 Block Method: Sample Outline

I. Introduction
A. Thesis statement
II. Arguments in Favor of Universal Basic Income
A. Reduce poverty
B. Improve people’s health
C. Enable workers to retrain
D. Allow for home care
E. Reduce government programs
III. Arguments against Universal Basic Income
A. Create an underclass
B. Increase laziness
C. Devalue work
D. Increase taxes on workers
E. Increase government spending
IV. Conclusion

FIGURE 9.3 Point-by-Point Method: Sample Outline

I. Introduction
A. Thesis statement
II. Body Paragraph 1: First Parallel Point: Poverty
A. Against: Creates an underclass
B. For: Raises people out of poverty
III. Body Paragraph 2: Second Parallel Point: Health
A. Against: Increases laziness
B. For: Improves health
IV. Body Paragraph 3: Third Parallel Point: Value of Work
A. Against: Devalues work
B. For: Enables workers to retrain
V. Paragraph 4: Fourth Parallel Point: Work Burden
A. Against: Workers must support nonworkers
B. For: Allows people to care for family members
VI. Body Paragraph 5: Fifth Parallel Point: Government Spending
A. Against: Increases government spending
B. For: Eliminates government entitlement programs
VII. Conclusion
236 9 Comparing Texts

An advantage of the point-by-point method is that the similarities and

differences between the subjects are instantly clear to readers because the
writer moves back and forth between them throughout the writing, noting the
similarities or differences each time. Some disadvantages are that continually
switching back and forth between subjects might be confusing to readers or
that the subjects might not be addressed in depth.

When Should You Use the Block Method and When

Should You Use Point-by-Point?
While there is no “right answer,” here are two suggestions:
• For a short assignment (one to three pages) or when you have few
points (one to three) of comparison, often the block method is prefer-
able because readers can recall the points about the first subject as the
second subject is discussed.
• For longer assignments (three or more pages) or cases in which there
are multiple points of comparison (three or more), the point-by-point
method may be preferable, as readers can more easily see the points
of comparison when they are presented next to each other.

PREPARING AND DRAFTING A COMPARE-

CONTRAST ESSAY
When writing a compare-contrast essay, remember this key point: you not only
want to identify similarities and differences between your two (or more) sub-
jects, you also must have a reason or purpose for making the comparison or
contrast. The objective might be to sharpen your understanding of the subjects,
to form a judgment about them, or to reach a conclusion. For example, a student
who compares the advantages and disadvantages of attending a two-year college
to a four-year college might use the comparison to decide which type of school
is a better fit. A student who compares the advantages and disadvantages of
taking classes online versus in a traditional classroom might better understand
what it takes to succeed in either learning environment. A student who compares
the arguments for and against a universal basic income might decide whether
or not to vote for a candidate who supports or opposes such a program. As you
plan your essay, think carefully about what you want to say about the subjects,
and why.

From Notes to Outline

You might begin your comparison or contrast essay by doing the following:
• Organize your reading notes, including your annotations, plus any lists, charts,
or diagrams you have created.
 Preparing and Drafting a Compare-Contrast Essay 237

• Consider which method—block or point-by-point—would more effectively

organize your ideas.
• Take your notes from the various readings and select important parallel
points. Arrange the points in the most logical order to build an outline for
your essay.

Developing a Compare-Contrast Thesis Statement

The thesis statement of a compare-contrast paper is critical, as it sums up
not only what is being compared and contrasted but also why. Rather than
simply providing a list of similarities and differences, the thesis state-
ment should give readers reasons to care about the subjects. The thesis statement
should

• Include the two (or more) subjects being compared or contrasted.

• Describe specifically how the subjects will be compared or contrasted.
• Suggest why it is interesting or meaningful to compare or contrast the
subjects.

To avoid writing a weak thesis statement, ask yourself, so what? Why

is it interesting or meaningful to compare or contrast these subjects? Why
should readers care? Think about your audience and the purpose for your
comparison.
Avoid writing a weak thesis statement like the following:

WEAK THESIS: There are many arguments for and against a universal basic
income.

COMMENT: This generic thesis statement simply identifies the two subjects. It
says nothing interesting about them. The fact that the writer could substitute
just about any two subjects into this thesis shows that it does not say anything
meaningful.

Instead, write a specific thesis statement that explains why the topic is
important, like the following:

STRONG THESIS: A universal basic income (UBI) is a program the

United States should implement because it promises to lift people out of
poverty and provide dignity and opportunities to all citizens, even if oppo-
nents of UBI worry that it can become an expensive bureaucracy that
disincentivizes work.

COMMENT: This thesis statement is more specific about the two subjects. It
also suggests an argument: that UBI is a program worth pursuing because
of its benefits to individuals, despite the concerns of its detractors.
238 9 Comparing Texts

DRAFTING A COMPARE-CONTRAST ESSAY

With your outline and thesis statement in hand, you are prepared to draft
your essay. A good place to begin is with the body paragraphs, which will
include the most important ideas and supporting information. In addition,
you should already have notes, annotations, lists, charts, and so on with
which to develop the body paragraphs. Depending on your outline, you can
write paragraphs using the block method (Figure 9.4) or point-by-point
method (Figure 9.5).

FIGURE 9.4 Paragraphs Using the Block Method

Some people argue that because a universal basic income (UBI) provides
every person a guaranteed income, this payment will disincentivize people to
work. For instance, one opponent of UBI, Larry Elder, who is a conservative talk
show host and author, claims, “Once someone believes the government ‘owes’
them something, it creates a sense of ownership and entitlement—and ultimately
dependency.” In other words, no one would be motivated to work if they didn’t
have to and if the government provided them with money. Oren Cass, a Senior
Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, also claims that UBI
would make work seem optional, because “[m]any recipients might prefer to live
on the free income rather than get a job.” These opponents believe that without
the motivation of a salary, people would rather not work.
In contrast, supporters of UBI suggest that with a basic income people might
become more independent and motivated to work or improve their careers. For
instance, Andreas Kluth, writing for the Economist, points out that workers who lose
their jobs could with a UBI “retrain for different careers,” or “invest in their own skills”
and therefore “reenter the workforce at a higher level.” That is, UBI would provide a
cushion against unemployment or an opportunity to advance. Moreover, many UBI
supporters note that UBI subsidies would barely support someone to live. Andrew
Yang’s proposed $1,000 per month or $12,000 per year for American citizens—the
Freedom Dividend that Elder argues against—is still below the poverty level of
$12,760, as estimated by the United States Health and Human Services Department.
In fact, Andrew Yang argues that UBI would encourage and enable people to seek
work. As he explains on his website, recipients of welfare often lose their benefits if
they become employed, but with UBI, “recipients are free to seek additional income,
which most everyone does.”
 Drafting a Compare-Contrast Essay 239

FIGURE 9.5 Paragraph Using the Point-by-Point Method

One of the more contentious arguments in the debate over universal basic income
(UBI) is whether providing every person with a guaranteed income will disincentivize
people to work. One opponent of UBI, Larry Elder, who is a conservative talk show host
and author, claims, “Once someone believes the government ‘owes’ them something, it
creates a sense of ownership and entitlement—and ultimately dependency.” In other
words, no one would be motivated to work if they didn’t have to and if the government
provided them with money. In contrast, supporters of UBI, like Andreas Kluth, who
writes for the Economist magazine, suggest that with a basic income, workers who lose
their jobs could “retrain for different careers,” or “invest in their own skills” and therefore
“reenter the workforce at a higher level.” That is, UBI would provide a cushion against
unemployment or an opportunity to advance. In contrast to this optimistic view Oren
Cass, a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, makes a
more pessimistic claim that UBI would make work seem optional, because “[m]any
recipients might prefer to live on the free income rather than get a job.” However, while
the opponents’ arguments seem logical, they are not grounded in reality since many
UBI subsidies would barely support someone to live. Andrew Yang’s proposed $1,000
per month or $12,000 per year for American citizens—the Freedom Dividend that Elder
argues against—is still below the poverty level of $12,760, as estimated by the United
States Health and Human Services Department. In fact, Andrew Yang argues that UBI
would encourage and enable people to seek work. As he explains on his website,
recipients of welfare often lose their benefits if they become employed. With UBI,
“recipients are free to seek additional income, which most everyone does.”

After developing the body paragraphs, you will want to compose an introduc-
tion and a conclusion. Review “The Writing Project” chapter to recall strategies for
writing introductions and conclusions. Use the Checklist for a Comparison Paper
to ensure that all parts of the paper are strong.

Checklist for a Comparison Paper

• Is there an interesting or meaningful reason for the comparison or
contrast?
• Does the introduction provide background on the topic, get the
reader’s interest, and lead into the subject of the paper?
• Does the thesis statement include at least two subjects being compared
or contrasted and state specifically how they will be compared?
• Are body paragraphs logically organized?

continued
240 9 Comparing Texts

• Are there clear transitions between paragraphs?

• Is there support, such as quotations or summarized information from
readings, for the ideas in the body paragraphs?
• Are the subjects treated equally?
• Does the conclusion bring the paper to a satisfying close?

Academic Style: Creating Transitions

In writing, making a transition means moving from one main idea to another or moving

from a main idea to an example. In an essay, transitions create logical connections between

sentences, paragraphs, and sections. Transitions help readers make sense of the information.

A transition can be a word, phrase, or even a complete sentence.

This style box focuses on creating effective transitions from one paragraph to another.

Here are three tips:

1. Sum up and set up.

One strategy for moving from one paragraph to the next is to use the topic sentence to

briefly sum up the main idea of the previous paragraph and then to set up the main idea of

the next paragraph. This type of transition works well if there is a strong, logical relationship

from one paragraph to the next, such as in a cause-effect or problem-solution situation.

Example:

Although research on UBI is not conclusive, some evidence suggests that

sum up previous paragraph

a steady, monthly wage will not discourage people from working, from seeking

employment or from retraining for a new job.

set up main idea of paragraph

continued
 Drafting a Compare-Contrast Essay 241

2. Focus on an example.
Sometimes a new paragraph continues the idea from the preceding paragraph. In such a

case, a transitional device may indicate the new paragraph focuses on an example

illustrating the previous paragraph’s main idea or on a specific aspect of that main idea. In

Larry Elder’s article, he uses government health care (in one paragraph) as an example of

how government should not be “providing expensive social services” (idea of the previous

paragraph).

Example: “Government health care, for example, has proven to be a major fiasco in this country.

transitional phrase indicates example

3. Use key words to create continuity.

Sometimes writers develop ideas about a topic over several paragraphs. Using key words

related to the topic as transitional elements indicates to readers that the writer is staying

on the same topic. Notice the repetition of the word work in the topic sentences in “A

Universal Basic Income: What Difference Might It Make?” to extend a discussion of how UBI

can improve working conditions and resolve problems currently existing in the workplace.

Example: The precarious nature of work . . .

introduces the topic of problems with work

Example: . . . a BI could also potentially insulate workers against the poverty resulting from . . .

continues discussion of how UBI can solve problems with work

Example: Moving beyond right-to work initiatives, which frame “work” narrowly . . .

more discussion of how UBI can solve problems with work

Example: This definition of work . . .

final discussion of how UBI can solve problems with work

242 9 Comparing Texts

Activity 9.1 Selecting a Prompt

Review the essay prompts, rate them in order of interest to you, and select one.
Solid Prompts
1. Based on the Selected Readings in this chapter, explain the arguments for
and against a universal basic income. Then draw a conclusion as to whether
supporting a universal basic income makes sense.
2. Compare the views of the authors in the first Reading Selection to the views
of Larry Elder in the second about universal income. Then determine which
article makes a more compelling argument about universal basic income.
3. Select an issue about which you are undecided and examine the
arguments for and against. Arrive at a conclusion about that issue.
Challenge Choices These prompts are more challenging because they require
research and engagement with multiple sources.
1. Conduct research and do more reading on the arguments for and against
a universal basic income. Then write an essay in which you compare the
arguments for and against and determine whether supporting a universal
basic income program makes sense.
2. Imagine that Christine Morley and Larry Elder are invited to debate the
topic of universal income on your college campus. Recreate that debate
by presenting their arguments for or against a universal basic income. As
the debate moderator, explain which person won the debate by making a
more compelling argument and why.
3. Conduct research and do more reading on the research examining universal
basic income programs. Compare the findings of various research studies.
Then reach a conclusion as to whether or not there is sufficient evidence
to support or not support universal basic income.

Activity 9.2 Listing Ideas

Answer the following questions, being sure to follow the directions for each.
1. Review Figure 9.1. Notice that the table includes side-by-side cells, or boxes,
that compare arguments for and against universal basic income. Using key
words or phrases, name each parallel point of comparison for each set of
cells. For instance, the first parallel point might be named “earning money.”
2. Consider the essay prompt you chose in Activity 9.1 and create a list, chart,
or diagram comparing the topics you will write about in your essay.

Pair and Share

3. With a partner, compare your answers to exercise 1. Determine which key
words or phrases best represent the points of comparison for each set of cells.
 Drafting a Compare-Contrast Essay 243

4. With a partner, compare your answers to exercise 2. Check that your

partner’s list has parallel points.

Activity 9.3 Reading to Synthesize Information

Answer the following questions, being sure to follow the directions for each.
1. Do some further reading and research on your topic (from Activity 9.3). Add
quotes, summarized information, or examples from the readings to your list
(from Activity 9.2).
2. Review your list (from exercise 1) and consider revising it by adding to
existing parallel points of comparison, creating new parallel points, and
revising existing parallel points or information, or by applying any
combination of these strategies.

Activity 9.4 Drafting a Compare-Contrast Outline

Answer the following questions, being sure to follow the directions for each.
1. Review your work in Activities 9.2 and 9.3, along with your annotations and
notes. Identify parallel points. Select the points most important for your topic.
2. Consider how you want to organize the essay: block method or point-by-
point. Select one organizational pattern and explain why you chose it.
3. Create an outline to show the main parallel points of the paper. Organize
it according to the method you chose in exercise 2.

Pair and Share

Exchange your outline with a classmate. Have your classmate check
your outline by identifying the organizational pattern of your essay and
the parallel points of comparison or contrast.

Activity 9.5 Drafting a Compare-Contrast Thesis

Statement
Answer the following questions, being sure to follow the directions for each.
1. Write a thesis statement for your paper. Begin by asking yourself, so what?
What is interesting or meaningful about the subjects?
2. Examine your thesis statement by considering the bulleted suggestions for
a thesis statement. Revise your thesis as needed.

Pair and Share

Exchange your revised thesis statement (from exercise 2) with a class-
mate. Have your classmate identify its strengths and weaknesses by
using the bulleted criteria.
244 9 Comparing Texts

Activity 9.6 Drafting a Compare-Contrast Essay

1. Review the outline you created in Activity 9.5. Write body paragraphs for
each part of your outline.
2. Review the introductions in both Reading Selections. What strategies do
the writers use to start their articles? What strategy could you use for your
introduction? Write an opening paragraph for your comparison-contrast paper.
3. Review the conclusions in both Reading Selections. What strategies do
the writers use to end their articles? What strategy could you use for your
conclusion? Write a conclusion for your comparison-contrast paper.

Pair and Share

4. Exchange your body paragraphs (from exercise 1) with another student
in the class. Read each other’s paragraphs.
5. Exchange your introduction (from exercise 2) with another student in the
class. Read each other’s introductions and identify the strategies you
used to begin the paper. Is the introduction effective? Why or why not?
6. Exchange your conclusion (from exercise 3) with another student in the
class. Read each other’s conclusions and identify the strategies you
used to end the paper. Is the conclusion effective? Why or why not?

Activity 9.7 Creating Transitions

1. Review your own essay draft. Look at the sentence beginning each body
paragraph. Determine whether the sentence provides a logical transition
from the previous paragraph and revise if necessary.

CHAPTER REVIEW

Key Terms
block method An organizational approach for comparing or contrasting
that involves writing first about one subject and then about the second
subject.
compare To identify the similarities between two subjects.
contrast To identify the differences between two subjects.
parallels Related or matching characteristics.
point-by-point method An organizational approach for comparing or
contrasting that involves moving back and forth between the two
subjects.
 Chapter Review 245

Chapter Summary
• Comparing (noting similarities) and contrasting (noting differences)
should help you understand issues, make a judgment, or arrive at a
conclusion about the subjects.
• Finding parallel elements between the two or more subjects being
compared or contrasted helps create coherence in writing.
• Lists, charts, and diagrams are tools for identifying points of compari-
son or contrast between two or more subjects when reading or writing
to compare and contrast.
• Two common patterns of organizing comparisons and contrasts are
the block method, which deals completely with one subject at a time
and then shifts to the second subject, and the point-by-point method,
which moves back and forth between the two subjects within the
same body paragraph.
• Strategies for synthesizing information from your own thinking and
reading include adding to or revising existing parallel points and creat-
ing new parallel points of comparison.
• The thesis statement of a compare-contrast essay sums up not only
what is being compared and contrasted but also why.
• Body paragraphs of a compare-contrast essay should reflect a logical
organizational method.

Chapter Activities
Follow the instructions in each exercise.
1. Write an essay comparing the advantages and disadvantages of two
educational majors you might be interested in pursuing. In your paper,
explain which major you would choose and why. (Note: If you are cur-
rently “undeclared” then consider two majors that appeal to you; if
you have declared a major, then compare your declared major to
another possible field of study.)
2. Research two careers you are considering. Then write an essay com-
paring the two careers. Arrive at a conclusion as to which one you
would prefer and why.

Credits
pp. 226–230: Morley, Christine, Phillip Ablett, and Jenni Mays. “Universal Basic Income:
What Difference Might It Make?” Social Alternatives 38, no. 2 (2019): 11–18. Used with
permission; pp. 232–233: Elder, Larry. “America’s Real ‘Freedom Dividend’: Hard Work
and Pro-Business Policies.” The Epoch Times, 29 December 2019. https://www
.theepochtimes.com/americas-real-freedom-dividend-hard-work-and-pro-business-
policies_3187992.html. Used with permission.
CHAPTER 10
Synthesizing Texts

After reading this chapter, you will be able to

• Take notes to synthesize information from various readings.

• Write a synthesis thesis.
• Compose a body paragraph that synthesizes information from
multiple sources.
• Plan a synthesis paper.

Theme: How Will Climate Change

Affect Us?

Reading forms the basis for much of college writing, and indeed you will often
be called on to think about and write about texts you read. When you write about
what you read, you are basically saying, “This is what I read and learned; this is
what I understand about the topic.” But also, your instructors may expect you
to do more than simply repeat what you learned from assigned readings. They
assume you will be able to explain ideas in the readings or relate these to other
situations. They may require you to evaluate or give your opinion about what you
read. They may want you to synthesize or organize information in original ways.
In this chapter, you will read texts to synthesize information about the effects
of climate change. Climate change is a well-established phenomenon: major sci-
entific organizations, such as the United States National Academy of Sciences
(USNAS); important government agencies, such as the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA); and international groups, like the Intergovern-
mental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), all agree that climate change is hap-
pening now. These organizations also study climate change to understand how
to slow the progress of global warming and to learn how climate change affects
the natural environment, the economies of nations, and the lives of human
beings. One area of research examines the unequal impacts of climate change on
communities and countries, which is the focus of this chapter’s readings.

246
PURPOSE OF SYNTHESIZING SOURCES
To synthesize means to combine different ideas into a new whole. If you have ever
written a research paper, you have most likely written a synthesis. That is because
the purpose of a research paper is to explore and understand a topic, then present
the researched information in a clear, coherent, and original way. In other words,
writing a research paper involves reading multiple sources (with different ideas on
a subject), then presenting these in a new way (as a new whole piece of writing).
A synthesis can be explanatory or argumentative. The goal of an explanatory
synthesis is to explain information from various sources, while an argumentative
synthesis takes a position on a topic and uses various sources for support. In
this chapter, we will focus on explanatory synthesis. The chapter “Arguing with
Texts” focuses on writing an argumentative synthesis.
Synthesizing requires drawing on skills discussed in previous chapters, such
as active reading and annotating (“Active Reading”) and summarizing and quot-
ing from sources (“Summarizing Texts”). Synthesizing builds on strategies used
to compare sources, such as understanding parallel points or related ideas
­(“Comparing Texts”). Although the goal of a synthesis is to explain a topic, you
must use your ability to make judgments and see connections between various
sources. A synthesis should not be a serial summary of sources, but rather a
reasoned explanation of the important issues about a topic.

Synthesis paper = combining different ideas or

information into an original paper
• Explanatory synthesis = explains a topic and uses various sources to
illustrate the topic
Example: A research paper that details the causes for the rise in global
temperatures over the last 200 years, supported by facts and evidence
• Argumentative synthesis = takes a position on a topic and uses various
sources for support
Example: A paper that proposes prohibiting the sale of gas-burning vehi-
cles by the year 2030 to significantly reduce carbon emissions in the
United States, supported by experts and scientific data

READING TO SYNTHESIZE
When you read to understand a topic and synthesize information, you should
have a specific purpose in mind. For instance, imagine you are assigned to write
an essay explaining the impacts of fossil fuel emissions on the natural environ-
ment, including human beings and animals. It would make sense to pay attention
to facts and statistics related to burning coal, oil, and natural gas, and look for
examples showing how these energy sources have impacted ecosystems, individu-
als, and animals. Suppose, instead, that the assignment is to write an essay
proposing ways to slow climate change. In your reading, you would look for
examples of strategies to curb global warming and evidence that these strategies

247
 work. The essay prompt and your purpose for writing will determine the parts
of a reading to which you pay the most attention.
Additionally, consider your audience when reading and looking for evidence.
If writing for community members, predictions about the effects of climate change
on the local land and regional weather may be relevant to their interests. If speak-
ing to an elected official at the national level, evidence that climate change will
disrupt the economy or increase unemployment may engage their attention.
Once you select the parts of a reading that are most relevant to your purpose
and audience, you will want to take notes from those parts. One way to take
notes is to annotate the text. This way your ideas and the information you may
include in a paper are on the text and you can easily find and refer to these as
you plan and write your paper.
Consider summarizing information from the reading, as well as marking quota-
tions. As you read and take notes, also consider ways to connect information to the
essay topic and relate it to other information. Figure 10.1 illustrates how you can
take notes on a reading by summarizing key ideas in the margin, marking quotations,
and jotting down ideas that connect information in the reading to the topic.

FIGURE 10.1 Annotated Article

Source: Nestel, M.L. American Refugees: How Climate Change Might Force U.S. Migration North and Where They
Could Go. Newsweek, 22 March 2019. Copyright ©2019 by EnVeritas Group. Used with permission.

Summaries Connections
and Quotes
American Refugees: How Climate Change Might
Force U.S. Migration North and Where They Could Go
By M.L. Nestel

Newsweek, 22 March 2019

Climate change is sometimes pouring down or boiling above. But it’s not

always obvious. And for a segment of the population throughout the United
Summary:
Climate States, climate change could be the culprit that displaces them, creating
change could
force many a new wave of American refugees. Rising sea levels and temperatures are
U.S. citizens
to move north. already uprooting residents and leading some experts to question if we’ll

see a mass migration north.

The barrage of big storms (known as “heavy precipitation events”) the

last half century and the rising mercury levels atomizing the polar ice caps

and scorching so many states may one day force Americans to make a

tough choice: either become weather refugees and migrate to cooler

Northern Hemisphere domains, or suffer the consequences of staying.

In Duluth, Minnesota, this week, Jesse Keenan, a faculty member of the

Graduate School of Design at Harvard College, opened the floodgates to the

248
 idea that certain places may be prime to hordes of people fleeing Mother

Nature’s wild side.

He touched on how humans may soon have to follow the lead of other

creatures.

Quote: “What we understand is the northern migration of flora and fauna,

“[E]verything
else in the fisheries and everything else in the Northern Hemisphere. . . . They’re moving
Northern
Hemisphere north slowly,” he said. “So why wouldn’t people also do that?” Keenan said,
[is] moving
north slowly according to The Duluth News Tribune, before partaking in the panel
. . . So why
discussion for “Our Climate Futures: Meeting the Challenge in Duluth.”
wouldn’t peo-
ple also do It’s not just fish that are being watched and heading for cooler
that?”
dwellings, but caribou, birds, insects and even plants. “Every organism has

a certain set of conditions where it’s comfortable to live and reproduce,”

Patrick Schoff, a biologist at the University of Minnesota Duluth told

Newsweek.

That means it’s only natural to go where those conditions are met. And

with the depletion of polar ice caps, dark sun-absorbing rocks are causing

more heat and the changes are happening at warp speed.

“Biology is used to moving, but it’s not used to moving at the speed that

we’re forcing it to,” he said.

This situation makes finding homes away from homes all the more crucial.

Lovely Warren, the mayor of Rochester, New York, described her city,

where around 210,000 live, as “one of the snowiest cities in the country.”

With 99 inches dumping a year, it competes on that score with big cities like
Chicago or Minneapolis.
Some cities,
But the summers are easy living. And the year-round average like Rochester,
New York,
temperature is 48.4-degrees Fahrenheit. may welcome
climate refu-
Summary: The city had already welcomed “a significant number” of displaced gees, but
Rochester, other cities,
New York, had residents from Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria tore through the island, and like South
an influx of cli- Burlington,
mate refugees the mayor encourages the numbers in a city already hit with population Vermont, may
after Hurricane not have the
Maria struck decreases as manufacturing giants left and their workers with them. What
infrastructure
Puerto Rico. to handle
she hopes for is a resurgence the likes of Kodak, Xerox and Bausch &
lots of new
Lomb—which all got their start in Rochester. residents.

249
 “Increasing our tax base will lead to more jobs and a more vibrant

community for our businesses and residents, and we welcome an influx

of citizens for any reason,” she wrote.

But how are they going to manage to house a potential endless amount

of transplants?

“Rochester was a city that had over 300,000 residents at one point—so
Summary: we have ample housing stock to handle this,” she stated.
Large migra-
tions of peo- The movement of a species—be it human or bird or insect—can cause
ple can be
detrimental. adverse effects.

“If you increase a population by a certain amount, you increase the

Quote: “If you
increase a stress on everything including the food deliveries, infrastructure, water,
population . . .
you increase streets and transportation,” Kristy Dahl, a senior climate scientist at the Union
the stress on
everything. . .” of Concerned Scientists, told Newsweek.

Dahl is seeing telltale signs of migration to the Northern Hemisphere.

But some folks living in particularly vulnerable places are going to have a

tough time selling a home whose worth is already sinking under water.
Summary: It
“Homeowners who have a home that is at risk to frequent flooding in the
will be harder
to sell a near term may be able to find a buyer,” she said. But after so many years pass,
home in a
flood zone or “eventually some unlucky homeowner is going to be left holding the bag.”
your home
may end up She pointed to Miami, where scientists are studying residential homes
worth less
money. “exposed to flooding and appreciating at lower rates than those that don’t

have that same flood risk.”

“There will be places within the next 30 years or so that would be

significantly impacted by sea level rise,” she said.

This could render into dead zones some parts of the country where it’s

too hot or too wet to stay. Climate

Summary: change
Hurricanes, Superstorm Sandy struck over Halloween in 2012. And it was a monster. causes terrible
like Sandy, personal loss,
also kill The East Coast was decimated by biblical storm surges that killed 117 people. from loss of
people. lives (117 killed
Twenty-two of those deaths were in Staten Island. by Sandy) to
loss of homes
Denise English, her husband and two daughters survived the and posses-
sions, to loss
superstorm, escaping with their lives from their two-story home on Fox of entire
communities.
Beach Avenue as the shifting shoreline (already hampered by erosion)

250
 quickly swallowed up most of the homes in their Oakwood Beach

neighborhood.

“We were petrified,” she recalled to Newsweek, of the whipping gusts

and rising waters.

In the wake of the storm, the English family permanently evacuated, as

did so many of their neighbors, literally leaving the borough’s once tight

enclave to the birds.

Patricia Snyder, whose house was on the same street as the Englishes’,
Summary:
Hurricanes left behind the home she had lived in since she was an 8-year-old girl when
will force
people to Sandy delivered 6 feet of gushing water.
leave their
homes. “Everything was gone from my childhood,” Snyder said. “It’s all a

memory, including the antique furniture that belonged to my grandfather.”

Summary: Snyder’s husband managed to scale up a neighbor’s rooftop to ride out

Some people
may be killed the flooding. Her brother Leonard, who was also her neighbor, did not
by climate
change manage to escape.
disasters.
“He couldn’t get out of the house,” she said. “He had gone downstairs
Summary: in the basement—and there’s speculation as to why he went down there—
Property is
lost as are and that’s when a 15-foot wave came through.”
people’s
possessions. Real estate agent Joe Tirone’s investment property was totaled. But he

Quote: People was concerned about the tenants, “who lost everything they owned,” as the
“lost every-
stormwaters rose to 11 feet outside the home and 8 feet inside.
thing they
owned.” “The only things they were able to salvage were stuff on their

mattresses that floated up and floated down,” he said.

Tirone led scores of fellow Staten Island stakeholders to get help and Climate
Summary: The
government change
secured 185 homes to be purchased outright by appealing to Governor doesn’t only
has to pay to
help people affect those
Andrew Cuomo and utilizing the state’s and Federal Emergency
impacted by individuals im-
climate change. Management Association’s (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, which pacted by
loss, but also
cut checks for prestorm sums. our state and
federal
The program boasts taking “sustainable action taken to reduce or government.

eliminate long-term risk to people and property from future disasters” and

touts “every $1 spent equals $4 of future damages mitigated.”

251
Summary: Save for a few stragglers, the Oakwood Beach community is virtually gone .
Whole com-
munities are Many relocated out of New York and their homes razed, transformed into
devasted and
open space.
people have to
go elsewhere. “Anyone who sold a home to the state, [it’s] back to nature forever,” said

Tirone.

This back-to-the-land transformation witnessed in Oakwood Beach is

repeating itself in southern swaths of Louisiana and Maryland’s Eastern

Shore, which scientists believe are also becoming tough places to live.

There have been migrations in the past. There was the massive

movement of people West to escape from the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. And

throughout the earlier 20th century, millions of African-Americans fled the

South in the Great Migration North.

Dahl doesn’t think that the next chapter will be so extreme that people
Summary: Cli-
mate change may end up trekking to the Yukon. But the appeal of a safer haven is going
will force
people to to become more alluring as human populations grow and resources become
move to safer
more fleeting.
communities.
“It could make places that people haven’t been seeing as destination

cities more desirable,” she said.

Kevin Dorn is city manager in South Burlington, Vermont. Climate

change could wreak havoc for his some 19,000 denizens because of the

city’s reliance on maple syrup production, which is climate sensitive.

Dorn gets why South Burlington would become a bigger draw for

climate refugees. Its schools are top notch and its summers are “pretty cool.”
The city gets about 81-inches of annual snow, but its winters don’t dip too far

below 35 degrees Fahrenheit.

But as for a rush for refuge by outsiders—whom locals refer to

Summary:
May be hard suspiciously, and as “Flatlanders”—Dorn has some concerns.
for new peo-
ple to move Housing is a consideration. Specifically, if more people come to live in
into a new
city because South Burlington, the city will face a logjam of issues getting building permits
of lack of
approved.
housing or
inability to “The permit process is arduous,” he said. “It can take years or even
build new
housing. decades depending on the project.”

252
Summary:
If the population (which statewide hasn’t grown or fallen much in recent It may be
May be hard
for new peo- difficult for
years) were to swell, residents would likely have to find shelter where people to
ple to move
into a new “land prices are pretty expensive” and residents are experiencing “a severe relocate; that’s
city because why calling
of lack of housing shortage.” them “climate
housing or refugees”
inability to “The biggest issue would be the permitting system and the ability to makes sense.
build new
housing. build in quantity to accommodate a big influx of people,” he said.

Quote: Change of venue may give some protections from the elements—but
“[M]ore pres-
sure on the clearly not everywhere, and not necessarily for long. Michael Mann, director
diminishing
of the Penn State Earth System Science Center, warns that there is only so
remaining liv-
able locations far we as humans can run.
. . . [which will]
suffer from “While it’s true that we can retreat from some of the heat and drought
more damag-
ing weather by moving to higher-latitude locations,” Mann says, “there will be far
events.”
more pressure on the diminishing remaining livable locations, and even
Quote: “No
place is safe those locations will potentially suffer from more damaging extreme weather
from the dan-
gers of unmiti- events . No place is safe from the dangers of unmitigated climate change.”
gated climate
change.”

KEEPING TRACK OF YOUR READING NOTES

There can be more than one way to collect information from your reading, but
the most important strategy is to have a system. As you read more sources on the
topic, you may find it useful to consolidate your notes into one document. This
way, you can also start to see connections between information in various sources
and begin to organize your synthesis.
For instance, using a graphic organizer can enable you to not only collect
notes from various sources into one document, but also to relate the informa-
tion between sources. The graphic organizer can enable you to focus on the
essay prompt, then look for answers to the prompt (if the prompt is a question)
or to develop original ideas on the topic, if you do not have a prompt. As
you locate information, you can input that information into the graphic orga-
nizer in the form of summaries or quotations, and group-related ideas from
different readings. Figure 10.2 shows a generic graphic organizer that can
allow you to keep the essay prompt or topic in mind as you read and develop
original ideas based on the readings. In the left column, record bibliographic
information about the source itself, such as the author and title, that will be
needed to create a Works Cited or Reference page. In the middle row, record
quotations and write summaries from the source related to various ideas
that will help you to address the prompt. Most importantly, along the

253
 topic row will be your own ideas connecting information from
various sources.

FIGURE 10.2 Graphic Organizer for Note-Taking

Essay Original Idea Original Idea Original Idea Original Idea
Prompt or Connecting Connecting Connecting Connecting
Topic Sources Sources Sources Sources
Source 1 Quotes and Quotes and Quotes and Quotes and
summaries summaries summaries summaries
Source 2 Quotes and Quotes and Quotes and Quotes and
summaries summaries summaries summaries
Source 3 Quotes and Quotes and Quotes and Quotes and
summaries summaries summaries summaries
Source 4 Quotes and Quotes and Quotes and Quotes and
summaries summaries summaries summaries

After completing the two Reading Selections in this chapter, we can see how
such a generic graphic organizer will work.

READING SELECTION
“BLACK LIVES MATTER: THE LINK
BETWEEN CLIMATE CHANGE
AND RACIAL JUSTICE”

Before Reading: Recognize Prior Knowledge;

Predict
Write responses to the following exercises using complete sentences.
1. What do you know about the Black Lives Matter movement? Explain.
2. Skim the reading, looking at the title and subheadings. What do you
think might be a link between climate change and racial justice?

During Reading: Annotate; Summarize

Complete the following exercise.
3. Chunk the reading according to the subheadings; then write a one- or
two-sentence summary of each section of the article.

254
 Black Lives Matter: The Link between Climate Change and Racial Justice
By Adelle Thomas and Rueanna Haynes
Climate Analytics, 22 June 2020
Climate Analytics is an international organization formed in 2008 and dedicated to using
science to impact policy on climate change. Before working for Climate Analytics, the first
author, Adelle Thomas, was an Assistant Professor at the University of the Bahamas, as
well as a lead author in the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) Sixth
Assessment Report. The second author, Rueanna Haynes, participated in the UNFCCC
(United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) on behalf of Trinidad and
Tobago. Note that the authors use British spelling conventions.

The global movement in support of the rights of Black people highlights the systemic 1
and institutionalised racism that has resulted in the murders of Black people as a result
of police brutality and the suppression of economic and social development of Black
communities in America.
The many videos and accounts of horrific incidents of police violence have spurred 2
protests from diverse groups around the world. People of all ethnicities are joining
together to demand an end to these appalling acts of violence, including cries to defund
the police and allocate resources to community development, education, and other
programs that would uplift Black communities.

But, what does Black Lives Matter have to do with climate change? Everything.
In any crisis it is the poorest and most vulnerable that suffer the greatest impacts. 3
This has been most recently demonstrated by the telling statistics of deaths caused 4
by COVID-19, in particular in the United States where Black and Native American
people are dying at disproportionately higher rates. The impacts of the pandemic have
laid bare the striking inequality in the US and its racist dimensions.
As summed up by Patrisse Cullors and Nyeusi Nguvu, members of the Black Lives 5
Matter movement, “Racism is endemic to global inequality. This means that those most
affected—and killed—by climate change are Black and poor people”. It is for this reason
that calls are now being made to centre racial equity and justice in seeking meaningful
solutions for the climate crisis.
The direct linkages between environmental justice and racial justice have long been 6
areas of research and activism, and the relationship between climate justice and racial
justice builds on these connections. Long-standing racist policies and practices—such as
residential segregation, unequal educational opportunities, and limited prospects for
economic advancement—have led to increased vulnerability of Black people to climate
change impacts and by extension other global crises that may emerge.
In the United States, disproportionate percentages of people of colour live in places 7
that are polluted with toxic waste, leading to negative health effects such as cancer, asthma,
degraded cardiac function and high blood pressure. Research has also highlighted that race
has a stronger influence on exposure to pollutants than poverty. This means it is likely that
polluters not only site their activities in low income areas, but in some cases are actively
selecting locations where there are high percentages of Black people in particular.

255
 Climate change intensifies the health impacts of pollution in these communities. For 8
example, higher air temperatures due to global warming traps air pollutants close to the
ground, further reducing air quality and exacerbating existing health issues. A recent
study of 32 million US births found that women exposed to high temperatures or air
pollution are more likely to have premature, underweight or stillborn babies and that
Black mothers are most affected.
Black communities are also disproportionately located in areas that are physically 9
vulnerable to climate hazards, such as hurricanes and flooding. Moreover, they are often
afforded unequal levels of protection from the government as compared to protection
provided for other groups. For example, Hurricane Katrina highlighted the legacy of
unequal flood protection in New Orleans, where racially biased distribution of
government funding resulted in subpar levee protection for Black neighborhoods.
Over 80% of the homes that were lost belonged to Black people and Black people 10
made up over half of total fatalities. Even after Black people bore the brunt of impacts of
Katrina, initial plans for redevelopment of New Orleans privileged white communities.
Subsequent hurricanes have exemplified the racial disparity in disaster recovery aid
issuance and prioritisation, with Black people being significantly less likely to have
access to assistance for household or business recovery.

Climate justice and racial justice are global issues.

Just as the Black Lives Matter movement is not solely about police brutality, it’s not just 11
in America where these climate and racial injustices play out. The linkages between racial
and climate justice can be seen around the world.
In the climate change sphere, it is well understood that those who will suffer the 12
most from climate change impacts (Small Island Developing States and Least Developed
Countries) have contributed the least to the global crisis. But just as in developed
countries, for developing countries this inequality in distribution of impacts is also
relevant at the community level.
For example, in Latin America, the most unequal region in the world, it is clear that 13
environmental justice is certainly also a racial justice issue. Issues concerning Indigenous
land, the rights of rural landowners, and expansion of energy, agribusiness and other
industries are central to racial and environmental justice struggles.
Globally, the linkages between climate and racial justice have not gained the 14
recognition they should in the broader climate change movement. At the level of
international climate negotiations, the rate of progress on these fronts is still too slow.
The human rights lens on climate change in the global discussion has only gained
limited traction with some minor progress on the gender and climate change front.
In addition to this, systemic racism in the climate movement also results in the 15
marginalisation of Black expertise including scientists and practitioners, as European
perspectives are generally supported, prioritised and magnified. Black climate experts face
the additional burdens of operating within racist structures while also trying to address climate
change. The climate movement simply does not have a good track record of handling issues
of equity or understanding climate change in dimensions beyond strictly environmental.
However, the Black Lives Matter movement is bringing much needed attention to these 16
issues and will hopefully continue to spur positive change. Due to the movement, climate
activists around the world are increasing their support for climate justice and racial justice.

256
 These are complex issues and there are no simple fixes. The task of dismantling 17
systemic and institutionalised racism requires more than superficial gestures, but instead
entails assessing, changing and even eliminating long-standing systems that lead to
inequality. Supporting organisations committed to racial and climate justice and
eradicating policies that marginalise Black people and communities of colour are just
a few of the widespread changes that must happen. The time has come for the climate
change community to recognise and act upon the racial injustices that increase the
risks of climate change for Black people and other communities of colour.

After Reading: Summarize the Text

Write answers to the following questions using complete sentences.
4. The first subheading in the reading asks, “What does Black Lives Matter
have to do with climate change?” How would you summarize the
authors’ answer to that question?
5. The second subheading in the reading states that “climate justice and
racial justice are global issues.” How would you summarize the authors’
explanation of that statement?

Engage with the Reading

1. Locate a piece of information in the reading that sounds unlikely.
Summarize or quote that information and explain why you are not
convinced by it.
2. Locate a piece of information in the reading that you believe to be true.
Summarize or quote that information and explain why you believe it to
be true.

CATEGORIZING AND ORGANIZING

INFORMATION
Before you draft a synthesis essay, it is crucial that you review and organize your
notes with your writing purpose and audience squarely in mind. Take care to
create your own organizational plan rather than simply repeating the structure
of the readings or writing a summary of each article. In this way, you can con-
vincingly tell readers what you have learned about the essay topic and make your
writing your own.

Categorizing Information
One effective way to start planning a synthesis essay is to create your own
categories of information and to group related ideas within those categories.

257
258 10 Synthesizing Texts

First, review your annotations and notes on the Reading Selections to identify
information that addresses the essay prompt. Second, look over your graphic
organizer to recall the categories created and the summaries and quotations
collected. Let’s say your prompt directs you to write about how climate change
creates inequities. You might begin by organizing information from the Reading
Selections into the two broad categories, say “Inequities among People” and
“Inequities among Countries,” based on information from your reading. Then,
within each category, you can group related ideas. For instance, some inequities
among people may have to do with income level and could be grouped in that
general way; other inequities may have to do with ethnicity and may be grouped
accordingly. Note that not everyone will categorize the inequities in the exact
same ways.
Always be sure your classification of information includes separate and dis-
tinct categories. For instance, creating one category about how climate change
impacts are unequally distributed in minority communities and another category
about how climate change impacts are racially biased might not be ideal because
the categories are closely related.
Figure 10.3 shows how a student might categorize notes by categorizing
information from different sources. The student could then add numbers to
reflect the order of ideas to be used in the paper.

FIGURE 10.3 Graphic Organizer Synthesizing Notes

How does climate
change impact Creates loss Creates loss Forces people Magnifies
people? of lives of property to move inequities

Nestel, M.L. Hurricane Sandy Property is lost Climate change In the past, poor
“American Refu- killed 117 people (example: Joe could force many people during the
gees: How Climate (Para 23) Tirone’s invest- US citizens to Dust Bowl or Black
Change Might ment property move north (Para 1) people in the Great
Force U.S. Migra- and Patricia Sny- For example, Roch- Migration were
tion North and der’s home), as ester, New York, impacted by
Where They Could are people’s pos- had an influx of cli- climate changes
Go.” Newsweek, sessions (tenants mate refugees after and lack of oppor-
22 March 2019. “who lost every- Hurricane Maria tunities (Para 38)
thing they struck Puerto Rico
owned”) (Para 31) (Para 12)
Thomas, Adelle, Many people During Hurricane Black people “Racism is en-
and Rueanna died in Hurricane Katrina in New are less likely to demic to global
Haynes. “Black Katrina in New Orleans, over 80% receive govern- inequality. This
Lives Matter: The Orleans and over of homes lost ment assistance means that those
Link between 50% of those were occupied by for housing or most affected—
Climate Change people were Black people business recovery and killed—by cli-
and Racial Justice.” Black (Para 12) (Para 10) (Para 9) mate change are
Climate Analytics, Black and poor
22 June 2020. people” (Para 5)
 Categorizing and Organizing Information 259

Creating an Outline or Paper Plan

After categorizing your notes, you may want to develop a blueprint for your paper
by planning or outlining your essay.
Most important when creating a plan or outline for a synthesis paper is to
organize the essay around ideas, not by sources. As stated in the beginning of
this chapter, a synthesis should not be a sequential summary of sources, but
rather an explanation of the important ideas about a topic. This is where your
graphic organizer will be invaluable. You can use the ideas along the top row of
the organizer to structure the paper. The information from various sources in
that column will therefore go into that section of the paper to explain and sup-
port that idea. The paper will be controlled by your ideas and by the connections
you see among the sources.
An outline is one way to create a writing plan (Figure 10.4). Writers use
different types of outlines. Outlines can be as informal as a bulleted list of ideas.
Informal outlines often include some phrases and incomplete sentences to express
ideas and support, such as the accompanying paper plan. Formal outlines will
be discussed later in the chapter “Writing a Research Paper.”

FIGURE 10.4 Paper Plan

Thesis: Climate change is predicted to have serious impacts on

Americans, including losing lives and property, dislocating people
from their homes and communities, and magnifying existing
inequities in our country.
Section 1: Creates loss of lives
Source 1: Hurricane Sandy killed 117 people
Source 2: Many people died in Hurricane Katrina in New
Orleans and over 50% of those people were Black
Section 2: Creates loss of property
Source 1: Property is lost (example: Joe Tirone’s investment
property and Patricia Snyder’s home), as are people’s
possessions (tenants “who lost everything they owned”)
Source 2: During Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, over
80% of homes lost were occupied by Black people
Section 3: Forces people to move
Source 1: Climate change could force many US citizens to
move north
260 10 Synthesizing Texts

FIGURE 10.4 Paper Plan (continued)

For example, Rochester, New York, had an influx of climate

refugees after Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico
Source 2: Black people are less likely to receive government
assistance for housing or business recovery
Section 4: Magnifies inequities
Source 1: In the past, poor people during the Dust Bowl or
Black people in the Great Migration were impacted by
climate changes and lack of opportunities
Source 2: “Racism is endemic to global inequality. This
means that those most affected—and killed—by climate
change are Black and poor people”

Note that the paper plan is simply a start as it includes notes on only two
sources. With more reading, the plan will include more sources and more
quotes and summaries. Moreover, you may add, revise, or delete main ideas of
sections depending on the quality and quantity of information to support each
main point.

WRITING A THESIS STATEMENT

FOR A SYNTHESIS
As we have seen in previous chapters, different types of writing may necessitate
different types of thesis statements. For instance, a thesis statement for an
informative essay might describe the specific focus of the paper’s topic, whereas
a persuasive thesis would state the writer’s position on the topic (“The Writing
Product”). Moreover, a thesis statement for a summary should identify the
overall main idea of another piece of writing (“Summarizing Texts”). A compare-
contrast thesis statement would include both subjects of the paper and how
exactly they will be compared or contrasted (“Comparing Texts”). Clearly there
is more than one way to write an effective thesis statement. Consider the
assignment, the purpose, and the audience as important factors when compos-
ing a thesis.
When drafting a thesis for an explanatory synthesis paper, you might write
a general thesis or a more specific thesis. A general thesis, sometimes called an
“umbrella thesis,” covers the big picture of the paper. That is, it provides readers
with an overall sense of what to expect in the paper. In contrast, a more specific
 Synthesizing Information in Body Paragraphs Using PIE Structure 261

thesis would provide not only the big picture of the paper but also some specific
issues or evidence the paper will include.

EXAMPLE OF A GENERAL THESIS STATEMENT

• People of color and low-income communities are disproportionately negatively
impacted by climate change.
Comment: This thesis statement is general because it states the topic of the paper
(how climate change negatively impacts poor communities) but does not state how
exactly communities are affected or why, or what the solution should be to this
problem.

EXAMPLE OF A SPECIFIC THESIS STATEMENT

• People of color and low-income communities are disproportionately negatively
impacted by climate change, because they live in areas more susceptible to
climate-induced disasters and have fewer resources to recover from such
disasters.
Comment: This thesis statement is specific because it states the topic of the paper
(how climate change negatively impacts poor communities) and specifies two
reasons why low-income people are more at risk.

SYNTHESIZING INFORMATION IN BODY

PARAGRAPHS USING PIE STRUCTURE
A body paragraph typically includes a topic sentence, supporting information,
and a closing sentence. When writing an essay to synthesize readings, the topic
sentence or main idea should be your unique assessment of the information.
It will be an idea you developed based on the reading. The supporting informa-
tion in a body paragraph comes from those readings in the form of quotations
or summaries. Because the support comes from readings, you may need to
explain to your readers how the information supports the main point of each
paragraph. The PIE paragraph structure is a useful model to follow because
the PIE paragraph structure helps readers understand what a writer is saying
and why.

PIE = Point, Information, Explanation

Point: The main idea of the paragraph, usually revealed in the topic sentence
Information: The support for the main idea, such as quotations and
summaries
Explanation: The connection between the point and the information,
usually an explanation of how the information supports the main idea
262 10 Synthesizing Texts

FIGURE 10.5 PIE Paragraph

Source: Anne Marie Salgado. “How Climate Change Disproportionately Impacts Low-Income Communities in the
United States and What We Can Do About It.” 9 Nov. 2020. Used with permission.

Paragraph Annotations

Additionally, those affected by climate change are likely to suffer from Point of Paragraph:
mental health issues. A report released in 2012 by the National Climate change
Wildlife Federation’s Climate Education Program and the Robert Wood impacts mental health.
Johnson Foundation predicts that climate change will be the catalyst
for a steep rise in mental disorders, including depression, anxiety, and Information: Climate
posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Cimons). Natural disasters change is predicted to
exacerbate preexisting stressors for those affected by them as well as increase mental
add new stressors, including stress related to loss of capital and stress disorders.
from PTSD caused by the disaster. Low-income people suffer
disproportionate amounts of distress related to poverty and higher Explanation: Why
rates of depression, so not only do low-income people suffer more climate change would
mentally, but they also lack access to coping mechanisms for mental increase mental stress
disorders and stressors (“Greater Impact: How Disasters Affect People
of Low Socioeconomic Status”). A universal health care plan that Information: Low-
covers treatment for mental health, including psychiatric treatment as income people are
well as therapy, will alleviate the mental stress for low-income more likely to be
communities, and the alleviation of other health-related stressors will affected mentally.
inadvertently improve the overall mental health of individuals within
these same communities. Explanation: Need
health care that
supports mental health

Figure 10.5 provides an example of a body paragraph written according to

the PIE format.

STARTING A SYNTHESIS PAPER

Your reading notes, including annotations on the readings and a graphic orga-
nizer, along with a strong thesis statement and a paper plan, will allow you to
start to write a synthesis paper. Understanding how to synthesize sources within
each body paragraph should furthermore provide a template for developing the
rest of the paper.
Figure 10.6 demonstrates how a student introduces the topic of the inequities
of climate change and states her thesis (in the first paragraph) and begins to
explain the impacts (in the second paragraph) by synthesizing information from
various sources.
 Starting a Synthesis Paper 263

FIGURE 10.6 Introduction and First Body Paragraph Synthesis Paper

Salgado 1

Anne Marie Salgado

Prof. Alison Kuehner
ENGL 101C-03
9 Nov. 2020

How Climate Change Disproportionately Impacts

Low-Income Communities in the United States and What We
Can Do about It

Climate change is inevitable. The world is just beginning to

observe the effects climate change is having on Earth’s people, these
effects including destructive hurricanes, detrimentally hot heatwaves,
as well as the destruction of crops, homes, and other public and
private property. However, the effects of climate change will not
impact people equally. Unfortunately, people with more wealth are
more likely to survive the effects of climate change than those with
less. Even within a wealthy country such as the United States, there is
a great disparity between people of different socioeconomic status.
Poor and low-income communities (the majority of which are occupied
by Black folks and people of color) are disproportionately negatively
impacted by climate change, and while passing policy to attack climate
change will indirectly help these communities, a direct solution that
is guaranteed to aid these communities is to establish universal
health care.
Climate change has, and will continue to have, dire economic
consequences for the United States. Hurricane Sandy, for example,
wreaked havoc on the U.S. east coast, destroying an estimated 1.8
million structures and homes, as well as racking up over $65 billion
in economic losses (Liverman and Glasmeier). Within this disaster
one observes a microcosm of the disparity of loss caused by climate
change between people of varying levels of socioeconomic status.
264 10 Synthesizing Texts

Salgado 2
While large corporations, such as Home Depot, saw sales go up by
hundreds of millions of dollars, small-medium scale businesses
were decimated by the hurricane, and over 10,000 people lost jobs
in the tourism industry (Liverman and Glasmeier). People living in
public housing in New York lost power, heat, and hot water for times
ranging from several weeks to several months after the hurricane
ravaged the city (Huang). Poor and low-income communities,
especially poor communities of color, are more vulnerable to natural
disasters and other effects of climate change for several reasons,
some of those being: low-income Americans are more likely to live
in neighborhoods less insulated against natural disasters, poor
families and individuals have less economic security and access to
resources, and these same people have less ability to relocate after
a natural disaster than affluent people (Krause and Reeves). [paper
continues . . .]

Checklist for a Synthesis Paper

 Is there a clear thesis statement that identifies the topic of the
paper?
 Is the synthesis organized by ideas, rather than by sources?
 Is information in the body paragraphs properly summarized or
correctly quoted? Are sources sufficiently identified?
 Is information in the body paragraphs synthesized so that
more than one source is used to support main ideas of
paragraphs?
Is the writing clear and concise?
 Starting a Synthesis Paper 265

Academic Style: Conciseness

Writing with concise language means using as few words as possible to communicate

ideas effectively. A sentence is concise when every word serves a purpose. Readers appreciate

concise writing because it conveys ideas tightly and clearly.

How can you create concise sentences? Here are three tips:

1. Eliminate empty phrases—words that do not say much and thus are unnecessary.

Wordy: It seems that there are many effects of climate change on the environment.

Concise: Climate change has many effects on the environment.

2. Avoid repetition.

Wordy: By studying and researching climate change, scientists have predicted and determined

that an average global temperature rise of 2 degrees Celsius will be catastrophic.

Concise: By studying climate change, scientists have determined that an average global

temperature rise of 2 degrees Celsius will be catastrophic.

3. Where possible, use adjectives or adjective phrases before nouns instead of lengthy

subordinate clauses.

Wordy: The climate agreement that happened in Paris in 2016 included 55 countries that

account for over 55% of greenhouse gas emissions.

Concise: The 2016 Paris climate agreement included 55 countries that account for over

55% of greenhouse gas emissions.

266 10 Synthesizing Texts

Activity 10.1 Evaluate Essay Prompts

for a Synthesis Paper
The essay prompts that follow will help you plan and write a synthesis essay.
Evaluate the writing topics by marking how interesting you find each one.
Check “Interesting topic,” “Maybe I could write on this topic,” or “Cannot relate
to this topic” for each prompt.

Solid Prompts
1. Using the readings in this chapter, explain how climate change will impact
people and communities in the United States.

☐ Interesting topic
☐ Maybe I could write on this topic
☐ Cannot relate to this topic

2. Using the readings in this chapter, explain how climate change will affect
inequities among racial and ethnic groups in the United States.

☐ Interesting topic
☐ Maybe I could write on this topic
☐ Cannot relate to this topic

Challenge Choices These prompts are more challenging because they

require research.
3. Using the readings in this chapter as well as researched information,
describe how climate change affects inequities among countries,
especially developing countries vs. developed nations.

☐ Interesting topic
☐ Maybe I could write on this topic
☐ Cannot relate to this topic

4. Conduct research to determine what solutions have been

proposed to mitigate the effects of climate change and how
these will work.

☐ Interesting topic
☐ Maybe I could write on this topic
☐ Cannot relate to this topic
 Starting a Synthesis Paper 267

5. Think about a problem in your community, one that you could research and
that has various proposed solutions. In an essay, describe the problem and
the solutions.

☐ Interesting topic
☐ Maybe I could write on this topic
☐ Cannot relate to this topic

Activity 10.2 Prewrite on a Topic

Follow the instructions in each exercise.
1. Select one of the essay topics from Activity 10.1 and do some prewriting
on the topic. In your prewriting, consider possible answers to the prompt.
2. Reread your prewriting and select the ideas you think are most likely to
appear in your reading as answers to the prompt question. Create a
graphic organizer, like the one shown in Figure 10.1, to prepare to take
notes as you read about the topic.

Pair and Share

Exchange your graphic organizers from Activity 10.2 (exercise 2) with a partner
and answer the questions.
1. Do the answers on the graphic organizer seem reasonable and likely to
address the essay prompt? If not, which ones might you eliminate or
revise, and how?
2. Can you think of other ideas to include on the graphic organizer? If so,
add these to the graphic organizer on the top row.

Activity 10.3 Taking Notes on Sources

Review your responses to Activity 10.2 and look again at the graphic organizer
you created. Follow the instructions in each exercise.
1. Select one of your sources and include information about the source
needed to create a complete Works Cited entry in the graphic organizer.
2. As you read your source (from exercise 1) take notes, including summarized
and quoted information in the middle of the graphic organizer.
3. Consider whether to add or delete or revise categories along the top row
on your graphic organizer.
4. Read as many other sources as necessary, following the procedures
in exercises 1, 2, and 3.
268 10 Synthesizing Texts

Pair and Share

Exchange the graphic organizer you created in Activity 10.3 with a partner
and evaluate them.
1. Do the ideas along the top row of the graphic organizer address the
prompt?
2. Do the notes in the graphic organizer relate to the prompt? Is there a
balance of summarized and quoted information?

Activity 10.4 Create a Paper Plan and Thesis

Statement
Review the graphic organizer you created in Activity 10.3 and the notes from
your reading. Follow the instructions in each exercise.
1. Create a plan for your synthesis paper, including what you will write
in each section.
2. Review the plan for your synthesis paper (from exercise 1) and write
a general thesis statement.
3. Review the plan for your synthesis paper (from exercise 1) and write
a specific thesis statement.
4. Consider the thesis statements you wrote for exercises 2 and 3; then
select the one you feel will work best in your paper. Add this to your
paper plan.

Pair and Share

Exchange the thesis statement and paper plan you wrote in Activity 10.4
(exercise 4) with a partner.
1. Review your partner’s thesis statement. Do you think the thesis
statement covers all the main ideas in the paper?
2. Review your partner’s plan. Do you think the ideas are arranged in the
outline in a logical order?

Activity 10.5 Draft a Synthesis Paper

Review the chapter text about synthesizing information from readings into
a paper, and use your work from Activities 10.1 through 10.4 to complete the
following exercises.
1. Using your thesis statement and plan from Activity 10.4, as well as your
graphic organizer from Activity 10.3, draft the start of your synthesis paper,
including an introduction and body paragraph.
2. Continue writing the body of the paper. Consider using the PIE method
of paragraph development to synthesize sources.
 Chapter Review 269

Pair and Share

With a partner, follow the instructions for each exercise.
1. Exchange your introduction and first body paragraph of your synthesis
paper (from Activity 10.5, exercise 1). Have that classmate evaluate your
introduction and body paragraph.
2. Exchange the draft of your synthesis paper (from Activity 10.5, exercises
1 and 2). Have that classmate evaluate your draft using the Checklist for
a Synthesis Paper.

CHAPTER REVIEW

Key Terms
argumentative synthesis Takes a position on a topic and uses various
sources for support.
concise language Uses as few words as possible to communicate ideas
effectively.
explanatory synthesis Explains a topic and uses various sources to illus-
trate that topic.
synthesis Combining different ideas or information into a new or original
whole.

Chapter Summary
• College students often write about what they read; they read multiple
sources and demonstrate their understanding of a topic by synthesizing
information.
• When reading to write a synthesis paper, select the parts of the read-
ings most relevant to the paper’s purpose and take notes with the
essay prompt or topic in mind.
• One strategy to start planning a synthesis essay is to create categories
of information, to group related ideas within them, and to use this
information to create a paper plan.
• The PIE (point-information-explanation) paragraph structure is one
effective structure to include information from various readings in an
organized way to support a main idea.
• An effective synthesis paper is organized around ideas, rather than a
source-by-source summary, and includes multiple sources to support
those ideas.
270 10 Synthesizing Texts

Chapter Activities
Follow the instructions in each exercise.
1. Imagine a friend asks for advice about writing an explanatory synthe-
sis paper. Give this person your top three tips for writing a strong
paper, as well as three things to avoid.
2. Write a PIE paragraph that explains one important idea you learned
about climate change from reading the articles in this chapter.

Credits
pp. 255–257: Thomas, Adelle and Rueanna Haynes. Black Lives Matter: The Link
Between Climate Change and Racial Justice. Climate Analytics, 22 June 2020. https://
climateanalytics.org/blog/2020/black-lives-matter-the-link-between-climate-change-and-
racial-justice/. Used with permission.
CHAPTER 11
Arguing with Texts

After reading this chapter, you will be able to

• Identify the parts of an argument, including claim, reasons,

and support.
• Introduce controversial issues.
• Organize arguments in essays, whether deductively or inductively.
• Assess arguments for logical fallacies.
• Respond to counterarguments by conceding or rebutting.
• Evaluate an argument.

Theme: How Free Is Speech

on College Campuses?

For some people the word argument conjures up negative associations. They may
think of an argument as a shouting match between two opponents, or as a bicker-
ing row between spouses. But in the academic realm, an argument has rules and
serves a purpose: to persuade someone, by giving reasons and support, to accept
a particular position.
Giving your opinion on a topic, as well as support for that opinion, is the
basis of an argument. Many essays you write in college will require you to present
an argument, even if the assignment does not specifically say so. That is, rather
than simply stating facts and information, you must give your opinion about
the topic, as well as reasoning and evidence to support that opinion. For a
sociology class, you might write an essay arguing that the United States should
abolish the death penalty because it is “cruel and unusual” punishment prohib-
ited by the United States Constitution; in an environmental science class, you
might write a report arguing that human activity contributes substantially to
climate change.
The ability to read and write arguments is valuable in other ways. For exam-
ple, you might read the pros and cons of legalizing marijuana before voting on

271
 an initiative, or you might consider arguments for or against enrolling your
children in a charter school; you might petition the court to dismiss a traffic
ticket, or you might write a letter urging city officials to install a speed bump on
a busy street to prevent accidents. This chapter explains how to read and write
arguments by considering students’ ability to speak freely on college campuses
or in their classes.

IDENTIFYING PARTS OF AN ARGUMENT

Knowing how to break down an argument into its parts is a useful start to under-
standing arguments. Many parts of an argument should be familiar from previous
chapters. However, argumentation introduces some new terms:
• Claim
• Reasons
• Support
Figure 11.1 shows how claim, reasons, and support form the structure for
an argumentative essay.

Claim
The main idea of an essay is called a thesis; if the essay is an argument, the main
idea may also be called a claim. In an argument, the claim takes a position on the
issue. An issue is a topic about which people disagree, and therefore is debatable:
that is, not everyone would agree. While a thesis may be informative, a claim
implies an argument.

Writing a Claim in an Argument

Some examples will clarify how an argumentative claim is different from an informa-
tive thesis. To provide context for the first reading in this chapter, the examples
focus on the controversy over taking down Confederate statues and monuments.

FIGURE 11.1 Graphic Organizer for Claim, Reasons, and Evidence in an

Argumentative Essay

Claim
(main idea of
the argument)

Reason Reason
(why the claim (why the claim
is valid) is valid)

Evidence Evidence Evidence Evidence Evidence Evidence

(support for (support for (support for (support for (support for (support for
the claim) the claim) the claim) the claim) the claim) the claim)

272
 Identifying Parts of an Argument 273

INFORMATIVE THESIS: Over 100 Confederate statues have been removed

from public lands since 2015 because of protests and demonstrations against
these monuments.
This informative thesis explains two facts: that over 100 Confederate statues and
monuments have been taken down since 2015, and these actions happened
because of protests over the statues. These facts promise an informative essay
explaining the recent history of the movement to remove Confederate symbols
from public spaces.
ARGUMENTATIVE CLAIM: Confederate statues should be removed from
public lands because these monuments honor men who perpetuated slavery
and believed in racism.
This argumentative claim takes a position that Confederate statues should be
removed and gives reasons (the statues “honor men who perpetuated slavery and
believed in racism”) to support the claim’s position.
Because an argument is a reasoned judgment, a claim cannot be based
solely on the writer’s personal opinion or preference. Personal opinion cannot
be supported by evidence and logical reasoning. For instance, if you say you
like chocolate ice cream better than vanilla, or prefer dogs to cats, no one can
argue for or against your statement. Your statement is simply your inclination;
it is not an arguable claim. Consider these examples:
OPINION: I feel comfortable allowing Confederate statues to remain in
public spaces.
Your feelings about Confederate statues—whether you are comfortable with them
or not—cannot be supported with evidence. Only you know whether you are
indeed feeling at ease as the statement says.
ARGUABLE CLAIM: Allowing Confederate statutes to remain in public
spaces ensures that people will know about and understand American history,
including slavery.
This statement implicitly presents a claim (that we should allow Confederate
statues to remain in public spaces) and gives reasons why this position is valid
(because “people will know about and understand American history, including
slavery”).
When you are writing the claim, be specific. The first draft of your claim
may be general. As you develop your reasons and evidence to support the claim,
take care to revisit the claim to qualify it or to revise it so that it accurately
reflects your argument. While a general claim may be acceptable in the paper
itself to guide the reader, a specific claim can enable you as a writer to determine
exactly what you will argue. Look at the following examples.
GENERAL CLAIM: Confederate monuments should be preserved.
Although the preceding claim takes a position in favor of retaining Confederate
statues, it is not specific about why this should happen.
274 11 Arguing with Texts

MORE SPECIFIC CLAIM: Confederate monuments should be preserved

because they are part of American history; removing them would potentially
mean forgetting our country’s complicated history, whereas retaining them
means examining our country’s legacy of civil war and slavery.
This claim takes a position in favor of retaining Confederate statues and specifies
how that would benefit the public. It also explains how the writer will support
the claim—by giving reasons why taking down the statues would be harmful while
keeping them up could be beneficial.
As a writer, you can use an effective strategy for determining your claim:
take a position based on what the evidence tells you about the topic. In other
words, if the evidence suggests Confederate statues are harmful and hurtful, then
you can argue that taking down these statues is the right thing to do. Conversely,
if the evidence points toward not taking down these statues, you can argue for
that policy. Remember that an argument is a reasoned judgment, one that needs
to be supported by evidence, so taking a position that can be supported by
evidence makes sense.

Qualities of a Claim
• A claim should state the writer’s position on an issue.
• The position should be debatable; that is, others might disagree or
have a different point of view.
• A claim must go beyond feelings and state a position on the issue
based on evidence and solid reasoning.

Reasons
In addition to making a claim that states a position, an argument must be sup-
ported by reasons why that position is solid. A reason is a statement that explains
or justifies. The claim expresses the debatable position on the issue, while the
reasons provide the explanation as to why the claim is valid.
Let’s examine a specific claim to understand how the claim states a position
and gives reasons for that position as well.

ARGUMENTATIVE CLAIM WITH REASONS:

Statues honoring Confederate figures and buildings named after them
should be removed from college campuses.
Claim = writer’s position on the issue
Reason 1 to make students, especially Black students, feel welcome and
included,
Reason 2 to uphold the values of higher education,
Reason 3 to take a stand against racism, and
Reason 4 to more accurately reflect American history.
 Identifying Parts of an Argument 275

FIGURE 11.2 Sample Outline of an Argumentative Essay

Claim: Statues honoring Confederate figures and buildings named

after them should be removed from college campuses.
First reason: Removing Confederate symbols from campus
would make students, especially Black students, feel welcome
and included.
Second reason: One important purpose of higher education is
to think critically; therefore, removing Confederate symbols from
campus demonstrates that colleges recognize and have rethought
the harm these symbols perpetuate.
Third reason: Renaming buildings and removing statues that
represent men who supported slavery would be tangible proof
that the college does not support racism.
Fourth reason: Renaming buildings and erecting new
monuments would be an opportunity to reflect the diversity of
American experiences and to celebrate a variety of achievements.

In an essay, sometimes reasons to support the claim are stated in the claim
itself, as in the example. Other times, reasons appear elsewhere in the essay, as
in the body paragraphs. For instance, the outline of an essay that states a position
early on and gives reasons throughout the essay is shown in Figure 11.2.

Support
Support refers to proof for a claim. The four types of support writers use, as
explained in the chapter “Critically Evaluating Texts,” are
• Factual evidence.
• Expert testimony.
• Explanations.
• Examples.
The type of support used often depends on what is most appropriate for the
audience, purpose, and assignment. Consider the following examples.
• A school newspaper editorial about the impact of offensive language on stu-
dents’ ability to learn might include stories from your own personal experience
(examples) to appeal to other students and persuade readers to take action.
• An article in a scholarly journal about biased language in the classroom might
feature statistics and researched information to appeal to professors and
change their thinking (factual evidence).
276 11 Arguing with Texts

As a writer, you will want to consider the context of your argument. Consider
the following examples.
• If you are writing an argument for an economics class, you might include a
cost/benefit analysis of implementing speech codes on campus versus incur-
ring lawsuits (explanation).
• If you are writing for a history class, you might include evidence that many
Confederate statues were built between 1900 and 1920 and quote experts who
believe these statues reinforced the Jim Crow era of segregation (facts and
expert testimony).
Reading the assignment prompt thoughtfully might provide further clues,
such as references to experts or texts that should be consulted in developing your
argument. If you need guidance, ask your instructor what constitutes appropriate
evidence for the assignment.
In the first Reading Selection, you can analyze an argument: an editorial
written by a college student. As you read, look for the parts of the argument:
claim, reasons, and evidence.

READING SELECTION
“A COLLEGE LECTURE ON CONFEDERATE
STATUES MADE ME REALIZE I’M SQUELCHING
FREE SPEECH ON CAMPUS”

Before Reading: Recognize Prior Knowledge;

Preview
Write answers to the following questions using complete sentences.
1. What do you know about the controversy over taking down Confederate
statues? What are the arguments surrounding this issue?
2. Look at the title of the article and the information before the reading.
What do you think the author’s claim will be?

During Reading: Annotate

3. Annotate the reading by marking the claim, reasons, and support.
4. Identify the types of support: factual evidence, expert testimony, expla-
nation, and examples. (NOTE: Not all articles include all four types of
support.)
 A College Lecture on Confederate Statues Made Me Realize
I’m Squelching Free Speech on Campus
By Kevin Weis
Chicago Tribune, 29 March 2019
When Kevin Weis wrote this article, he was an undergraduate student majoring in history
and secondary education at Aurora University in Illinois. At the beginning of his article,
Weis references President Donald Trump’s signing of an executive order on March 21, 2019,
protecting freedom of speech on college campuses.

I am the problem with free speech on college campus. At the very least, I don’t help. 1
President Donald Trump took action earlier this month to deal with what he sees as an
assault on conservative voices. The squelching of diverse viewpoints and the disinvitation
of conservatives to college campuses is a well-documented trend that has led to an
increasingly fervent left and fewer and fewer conservative and moderate students who
are willing to speak.
While this problem largely correlates with a persistent rise in the number of liberal 2
professors, I would argue that much of the blame falls squarely on the shoulders of my
peers and me.
The day before Trump signed an executive order that threatens to withdraw federal 3
funding from universities that block conservative views, my history class was directed to
attend a presentation on Confederate monuments. It was my second time attending it, so
I knew what to expect from the discussion. I even took the time to prepare answers from
both conservative and liberal perspectives. The professor prefaced his presentation by
stating that he was going to involve the 75 or so students in his talk. The most significant
question would be: Should the monuments come down?
None to my surprise, overwhelmingly students in the auditorium said the monuments 4
should be taken down. One person, a retired English professor, suggested some caution.
Her voice, though, was the lone pushback against the many monologues that came from
some of my most notably far-left peers.
At one point, the professor rhetorically asked the crowd, “If we start taking down 5
Confederate memorials for promoting slavery, do we also take down the Washington
Monument and the Jefferson Memorial?” One voice from the crowd said yes. A couple
of heads nodded in agreement. Eventually, the professor asked, what about the monuments
to nameless Confederate soldiers erected for the families who lost loved ones? The
collective voice said: Yes, take them down.
I sat there considering whether to raise an objection just to counter the sound of the 6
echo chamber. But I did no such thing. I was sitting behind a student whose opinion I
had consulted previously because I knew it was conservative. He believed the monuments
should stay up and be used as a learning tool. Yet, he also remained silent. The other
students in my section remained quiet, too, though I knew many of them to be liberal-
minded, so perhaps they were silently agreeing with the outspoken leftists in the room.
The next day, the day Trump signed the executive order, I met with members of the 7
history club I participate in, all of whom had attended the lecture. I asked them their
thoughts on taking down the monuments, and many agreed that some, such as a Nathan
Bedford Forrest* statue, should be uninstalled. A couple of students, however, argued

277
 that all of the monuments should be preserved in some capacity, such as in museums,
perhaps. The consensus was to leave the monuments to the nameless soldiers alone. The
notoriety of someone like Gen. Robert E. Lee made the hypothetical decision-making
more challenging.
I then asked everyone’s observations about who spoke up at the lecture. Each person 8
noted it was the classmates we know to hold views furthest to the left. No one really
thought that was unusual, since those students express their thoughts most often in class.
It was then I realized: I am part of the problem. I could have spoken up during the 9
lecture, but I chose not to. I let the more radical voices rule the day, uncontested.
Combating that situation does not require an executive order. It requires those of us 10
who are aware of the problem to speak up and challenge ideas with better ideas.
That is what it means to have free speech. 11
* Note: Nathan Bedford Forrest was a Confederate army general during the Civil War and
later the first Grand Wizard in the Ku Klux Klan.

After Reading: Respond to the Argument

Write answers to the following questions using complete sentences.
5. Do you find Weis’s claim and reasons to be persuasive? Why or why
not? How could someone argue against them?
6. Which pieces of support in the reading do you find most convincing?
Why? Can you think of support that might counter the reading’s
support?

Engage with the Reading

1. The author writes, “I could have spoken up during the lecture, but I chose
not to.” Why do you think the writer did not share his opinion?
2. Do you think the professor could have handled the situation differently to
encourage more students, especially students with opposing positions, to
speak up?
3. Have you ever been in a situation when you did not speak up in class? If
so, why did you not voice your opinion?

INTRODUCING CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES

While an argument can begin using strategies that work for any essay (see in
“The Writing Product” chapter, “Sensible Strategies for Introductions”) an argu-
ment may require more background knowledge of the topic to allow readers to
understand what the controversy is or why the issue is being debated.

278
 Introducing Controversial Issues 279

Provide Background Information

In the first Reading Selection, Kevin Weis provides context that free speech is
being restricted on college campuses by alluding to President Trump’s “action
earlier this month,” which was to sign an executive order linking federal funding
to free speech on college campuses. Weis also cites the “well-documented trend”
of “squelching of diverse viewpoints and the disinvitation of conservatives to
college campuses.” In this way, Weis sets the stage for arguing that exercising
one’s free speech rights, especially to express conservative views, should be the
responsibility of college students.
To introduce a controversial issue in an argument, writers often use the
following strategies.
• Provide a brief history. To give context to free speech on campus, writers might
describe the beginnings of the Free Speech Movement in the 1960s at the
University of California at Berkeley when students protested the administra-
tion’s ban on political activism on campus, then state their claim as to whether
(or not) free speech currently exists on college campuses.
• Describe recent events. In a discussion about free speech on college campuses,
writers may describe how in 2017 students at the University of California at
Berkeley protested conservative speakers, such as Milo Yiannopoulos and Ann
Coulter, who were invited to speak on campus, before presenting their position
on the issue.
• Explain various views. To provide context for arguments for (or against) free
speech zones on campus, writers may briefly explain why some people sup-
port designated free speech areas while others feel free speech areas restrict
their rights, before stating their own position.
• Give illustrative examples. In an argument questioning whether hate speech is
free speech on campus, writers may introduce examples of students who
engage in racist speech, such as sporting a swastika tattoo or using derogatory
terms to describe racial minorities, before making their claim.

Define Terms
In addition to providing context or background information on the topic of the
argument, a writer may need to ensure that readers understand key terms. For
instance, a term such as hate speech can be important to understanding whether
hate speech is protected free speech. Defining terms is also a way to ensure that
readers are “on the same page” and understand the issue in the same way.
To define key terms in an argument, writers often use the following
strategies.
• Provide a definition agreed upon by experts or sources. When clarifying the term
free speech zones, a writer might cite the American Association of University
Professors (AAUP) definition as “areas of a campus to which protests and
other contentious political activity are confined.” The AAUP would be consid-
ered an expert organization in regard to college campus issues.
280 11 Arguing with Texts

• Give examples to illustrate what a term means. To help readers understand

what microaggressions are, the writer may provide examples of microaggres-
sions, such as stating that women are not good at math or that Asians are
mathematically inclined, to enable readers to understand that microaggres-
sions are stereotypes, negative or positive, based on gender or race, among
other categories.
• Explain what a term does not mean. To introduce readers to the term brave
spaces, a writer might contrast this to the term safe spaces to clarify that while
safe spaces exist to protect people from discrimination or harassment, in a
brave space people may encounter remarks that are hurtful.

STRUCTURING AN ARGUMENT
Identifying the claim, reasons, and support in a text will help you see how argu-
ments are organized. Determining the organizational pattern will further help
you follow the author’s thinking. Two common ways of organizing arguments are
1. From claim or reason to support, also known as deductive reasoning.
2. From support to claim or reason, also referred to as inductive reasoning.
You might find the organizational patterns of claim to support or of support to
claim used for an entire piece of writing or on a smaller scale, such as in a
paragraph or section of a reading.

Deductive Reasoning: Arguing from Claim

or Reason to Support
One strategy for organizing an argument is to begin with a claim (in an essay)
or a reason (in a paragraph) and then present support for that claim or reason.
This pattern is typical of academic writing: to present a thesis or topic sentence
and then provide proof for it.
For instance, Kevin Weis begins his essay with his claim that he is “the
problem with free speech on college campus,” then proceeds to describe an
example of a class discussion of Confederate monuments in which he did not
speak up to defend his view that some monuments should stay standing. In other
words, his argument moves from claim to support.
Figure 11.3 illustrates how a writer might begin with a claim or reason and
then give supporting evidence to lead readers to a conclusion.

Inductive Reasoning: Arguing from Support

to Reason or Claim
A different organizational strategy is to begin with support and then reach a
conclusion. You can think of this organizational structure as moving from sup-
port to reason or claim. This organizational strategy can be powerful because the
writer seems to lead readers, by force of the evidence, to a logical conclusion.
Often scientific writing proceeds in this way.
 Structuring an Argument 281

FIGURE 11.3 Deductive Argument

The following argument about free speech on college campuses was posted on the
American Civil Liberties website. The information is organized deductively, because it
begins with a general statement that is followed by examples to support that statement.
Source: American Civil Liberties Union

Argument Annotations

Historically, restrictions on speech have proven at Reason = Speech

best ineffective, and at worst counter-productive, codes are not
in the fight against bigotry. Although drafted with effective and do not
the best intentions, these restrictions are often promote positive
interpreted and enforced to oppose social change.
change. Why? Because they place the power to
decide whether speech is offensive and should be
restrained with authority figures—the government
or a college administration—rather than with those
seeking to question or dismantle existing power
structures. For example, under a speech code in Example = White
effect at the University of Michigan for 18 months, college students
there were 20 cases in which white students accuse Black
charged Black students with offensive speech. college students of
One of the cases resulted in the punishment of a offensive speech.
Black student for using the term “white trash” in
conversation with a white student. The code was
struck down as unconstitutional in 1989. To take Example = Student is
another example, public schools throughout the not allowed to wear
country have attempted to censor pro-LGBT a t-shirt supporting a
messages because the government thought they gay person.
were controversial, inappropriate for minors, or
just wrong. Heather Gillman’s school district
banned her from wearing a shirt that said “I
Support My Gay Cousin.” The principal maintained
that her T-shirt and other speech supporting LGBT
equality, such as “I Support Marriage Equality,”
were divisive and inappropriate for impressionable
students. The ACLU sued the school district and
won, because the First Amendment prevents the
government from making LGBT people and LGBT-
related issues disappear. These examples
demonstrate that restrictions on speech don’t
really serve the interests of marginalized groups.
The First Amendment does.
282 11 Arguing with Texts

As you will see, Tyrone Fleurizard’s “3 Approaches to Confronting Microag-

gressions” begins with research about stereotypes and unconscious biases, intro-
duces ways to eliminate microaggressions in the college classroom, and then
concludes with his claim that “to support the most marginalized students, prac-
titioners should make an effort to address the barriers associated with marginal
identity.” In this way, his argument proceeds inductively.
Figure 11.4 illustrates how a writer might begin by presenting evidence that
leads readers to the claim.
The second Reading Selection again provides an opportunity to analyze an
argument written by a college student. Notice the claim, reasons, and evidence,
as well as the organization of the argument.

FIGURE 11.4 Inductive Argument

The following argument about free speech on school campuses appears on the Intel-
lectual Freedom blog on the American Library Association website. The information is
organized inductively, because it begins with an example and an expert opinion, then
leads to a claim. The blog is titled “Do Student Protestors Have First Amendment
Rights?” and this section answers that question.
Source: Slocum, Rebecca. “Do Student Protesters Have First Amendment Rights?” Intellectual
Freedom Blog, 21 March 2018, American Library Association

Argument Annotations

In 1965, 13-year-old Mary Beth Tinker, along with Example = Students

a group of students at her junior high, wore black wearing black
armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War. armbands to school
The students were sent home and told not to
return until they were no longer wearing
armbands. While the students did eventually
return to school without the offending armbands,
they continued to protest by wearing black
clothing for the remainder of the school year.
Represented by the American Civil Liberties
Union (ACLU), the students and their families
sought legal action. The landmark case Tinker Expert Opinion = The
v. Des Moines is the result. The Supreme Court Supreme Court case
determined that students do not “shed their ruling
constitutional rights to freedom of speech or
expression at the schoolhouse gate.”
So the short answer? Yes. Students do indeed Conclusion =
have First Amendment rights to free speech Students have First
even while on school property. But with a few Amendment rights
caveats. while at school.
READING SELECTION
“3 APPROACHES FOR CONFRONTING
MICROAGGRESSIONS”

Before Reading: Predict

Write answers to the following questions using complete sentences.
1. What do you know about microaggressions? How would you define
this term?
2. Look at the title and skim the article. What approaches for confronting
microaggressions in the classroom will the writer propose?

During Reading: Annotate

3. Annotate the reading by marking the claim, reasons, and support.
4. Identify the types of support: factual evidence, expert testimony,
explanation, and examples. (NOTE: Not all articles include all four
types of support.)

3 Approaches for Confronting Microaggressions

By Tyrone Fleurizard
Inside Higher Education, 20 July 2018
When Tyrone Fleurizard wrote this article, he was a doctoral student at the Lynch School of
Education at Boston College. His interests include exploring racial disparities in education.

Phil Goodman—a pseudonym—has been teaching the psychology of prejudice for almost 1
a decade. He has every lecture memorized and every punch line down. Throughout
the semester, students explore the many ways prejudice manifests, interrogate prejudice
research and, at the conclusion of the semester, develop ways to reduce prejudice in
their own lives.
Goodman’s favorite lecture is on stereotypes. His reading for this particular lecture 2
includes an experimental study from Stanford University social psychologist and 2014
MacArthur “Genius” fellow Jennifer Eberhardt and her colleagues. They sought to
determine how stereotypic associations influence visual processing and attention. To do
that, participants were primed with either black faces, white faces or no faces and then
shown images on a computer screen of crime and noncrime objects that started fuzzy
and became progressively clearer.
The researchers were testing reaction time, so participants were instructed to press 3
a key as soon as they could make out the object. What they found was astonishing:

283
 participants took less time to identify a crime-relevant object when primed with black
faces than with white faces. When primed with white faces, participants took longer
to recognize dangerous objects—so much so that if in a real situation, they could have
been in fatal danger. During the class discussion, one student eager to contribute began
reciting the study’s methodology. When they described the primed faces, however, they
referred to the white faces as “white” but the black faces as “colored.” After they
finished, there was a long pause. Microaggressions like these happen all the time.
Microaggressions are subtle, discriminatory actions and comments toward people of 4
color that may be racist, sexist or ableist. The late Chester Pierce, emeritus professor at
Harvard Medical School, first coined the term in the 1970s as “subtle, stunning, often
automatic and nonverbal exchanges which are ‘put downs’” by offenders. These seemingly
trivial slights have been shown to be related to negative health and academic outcomes
for black students.
In a landmark paper, Derald Wing Sue and his colleagues at Columbia University 5
described microaggressions as taking three forms: microassaults, microinsults and
microinvalidations. Microassaults are explicit verbal or nonverbal attacks meant to hurt
someone, such as using racial epithets. Microinsults are verbal and nonverbal insults
that often carry hidden meaning, including, “You’re pretty for a black woman”—the
implication being that black women are not attractive. And microinvalidations invalidate
the experiences and existence of the victim, such as, “I don’t see color. I see people
for who they are.” While microassaults are typically conscious, microinsults and
microinvalidations are often unconscious. That doesn’t excuse their use. It means
we are not immune.
A challenge for education practitioners is how to effectively address such 6
microaggressions in the classroom. While recognizing this is a delicate issue with no
absolutely correct answer, I have three suggestions to attempt to address and reduce
classroom microaggressions.
Use the syllabus to create the classroom culture. Faculty members and university 7
regulations can often overlook the syllabus as a powerful tool for classroom socialization.
Beyond outlining guidelines and policies à la carte, it’s an opportunity for professors to
communicate to students the classroom culture in a meaningful way.
Specifically, language plays a critical role in syllabus design. Researchers at 8
Pennsylvania State University found that a syllabus’s language influences students’
perceptions of the professor, including how approachable and motivated to teach they
believed the professor to be. Design a syllabus that lets students, especially those from
marginalized backgrounds, know that they are supported and that their existence,
experiences and opinions are valid.
For example, a possible statement might be “I am committed to affirming the 9
identities, realities and voices of all students, especially those from historically marginalized
or underrepresented backgrounds. This course values the use of person-centered language
and preferred gender pronouns, and respect for the experiences of others.”
Use microaffirmations. According to Mary Rowe, adjunct professor of negotiation 10
and conflict management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School
of Management, microaffirmations are “small acts, which are often ephemeral and

284
 hard-to-see, events that are public and private, often unconscious but very effective, which
occur wherever people wish to help others to succeed.” She originated the term in 2008
when she was tasked with figuring out ways to improve the workplace for underrepresented
MIT students, faculty members and staff members. She saw that the “little issues,” what
she called microinequalities, could have destructive, long-term effects on an organization.
She hypothesized that if microinequalities can have negative effects, then microaffirmations
could have positive ones. She was right.
These small affirmations can be done by giving nonverbal cues, such as head nodding 11
when students are speaking, giving credit to students by name, asking for students’ valued
opinion and endorsing students’ ideas, among others. The effects of microaffirmations can
be manifold. Not only do they affirm the identities of marginalized students, but, if used
consistently, they may also be effective in reinforcing the classroom culture.
Address microaggressions when they happen. This is what Goodman did. After the student 12
finished, he chose to address the microaggression by saying, “Before we leave, I want to
point out what just happened. I don’t think you’re aware of what you said. What you said
is an inappropriate term to refer to black people. I just want to make sure that you know
that it’s not OK, and it’s hurtful. In the future, use person-centered language.” This can
be the most challenging way to address microaggressions in the classroom, as doing so
involves risk and responsibility. But, regardless of potential conflict, direct but empathetic
discussion may be most effective in dealing with microaggressions.
The alternative—being passive—may communicate a lack of empathy and concern for 13
the well-being of targets of microaggressions, in addition to communicating that denigration
is normal. In one study, professors and students were given vignettes describing incidents
of microaggression and asked whether a direct response to the microaggression was more
effective than being passive. The researchers hypothesized that teachers would perceive
direct responses as more effective than would students. But that isn’t what happened. While
both teachers and students perceived direct responses as more effective, students did so at
a higher rate than professors, suggesting that students may want their professors to confront
microaggressions as they happen.
To support the most marginalized students, practitioners should make an effort to 14
address the barriers associated with marginal identity. It’s hard to contribute and thrive
in the classroom when your existence is invalidated and you are made to feel like a bit
player. Acknowledgment that microaggressions aren’t so micro is key to creating an
inclusive learning environment for all students.

After Reading: Recognize Parts of an Argument

Write answers to the following questions using complete sentences.
5. Do you find Fleurizard’s claim and reasons to be persuasive? Why or
why not? How could someone argue against them?
6. Which pieces of support in the reading do you find most convincing?
Why? Can you think of evidence that might counter the reading’s
support?

285
286 11 Arguing with Texts

7. How is the argument organized—inductively or deductively? Explain.

8. Where and how is the term microaggression defined in the reading?

Engage with the Reading

1. 
Have you ever experienced or witnessed a microaggression in a classroom
setting or on campus? If so, how was this handled by your classmates or
instructor? Explain.
2. Fleurizard concludes, “Acknowledgment that microaggressions aren’t so
micro is key to creating an inclusive learning environment for all students.”
Do you agree? Or do you feel that other aspects of the classroom are
more important to “creating an inclusive learning environment for all
students”?

EVALUATING LOGIC
In addition to analyzing the evidence used in arguments, we can analyze and
evaluate the thinking in arguments. This kind of analysis tends to focus on the
ways to go wrong when reasoning, or logical fallacies. There are many types of
logical fallacies with various names. To keep track of them, it is useful to under-
stand why each logical fallacy shows poor reasoning. Here are eight of the most
common logical fallacies, grouped by why the thinking is weak.

Avoiding the Issue

Arguments should deal with the issue at hand. Reasoning that avoids the central
claim or important evidence in an argument would fall into this category of
avoiding the issue.
Ad hominem (Latin for “to the man”) is an argument that attacks the person,
rather than the issue at hand. Often such “name-calling” is designed to discredit
the opponent. For instance, dismissing opponents of free speech restrictions as
“extremist bigots” or, conversely, calling supporters of free speech restrictions
“radical zealots” would be ad hominem attacks because they seek to discredit
the authority of the people who hold those views. In general, ad hominem attacks
are not very productive. It is better to argue why free speech codes on college
campuses are effective—or not.
A red herring is a ploy that distracts attention from the real issue. (By the
way, there’s no such thing as a red herring; herring are silvery fish.) An article
published in The Journal of Ethics, titled “‘Offensiphobia’ Is a Red Herring: On
the Problem of Censorship and Academic Freedom,” argues that the term
offensiphobia, which implies that something is offensive if one feels offended, is
a red herring because universities and colleges restrict speech based on principles
other than an individual’s feelings about that speech. In short, offensiphobia,
contend the authors, does not truly exist and is therefore a red herring in the
argument over censoring speech on campus.
 Evaluating Logic 287

Weak Cause and Effect

Proving that one event causes another is often difficult to do. Some events have
many causes and, as in any argument, there needs to be sufficient, relevant, and
valid proof of cause and effect to be convincing.
Post hoc ergo propter hoc, Latin for “after this, therefore because of this,” is
a fallacy that assumes because one event follows another, the first event caused
the second. However, just because two events occur in order, or even come at
the same time, does not mean one causes the other. A classic example of this
principle is that a rooster crows in the morning before the sun rises. But a rooster
crowing does not cause the sun to rise.
A slippery slope argument predicts a “doom and gloom” or worst-case sce-
nario will result with no evidence that one action will lead to the next. For
instance, in Kevin Weis’s article, he quotes his professor as asking rhetorically,
“If we start taking down Confederate memorials for promoting slavery, do we
also take down the Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial?” This
rhetorical question was meant to suggest a slippery slope argument: that taking
down monuments to Confederates would lead to taking down monuments to
many other Americans.

Pretending to Offer Proof, but Not Really

Claims must be supported by relevant evidence. If the support is not relevant to
the argument, then neither is the reasoning.
Faulty use of authority occurs when the person being quoted to support an
argument has no authority on the topic. For instance, quoting the President of
the United States about the right to free speech on college campuses might be
considered a faulty authority. Better to quote the United States Attorney General
or a Supreme Court Justice who understands the constitution and laws regarding
freedom of speech. Also, be wary of sweeping statements about “experts,” as in
“many experts believe. . . .” We can believe experts when they are named and
when we know why they are experts.
Hasty generalization suggests that a conclusion has been drawn based on too
little evidence or too few examples. One needs a sufficient amount of evidence
to arrive at a reasonable conclusion. The larger the conclusion, the more evidence
is needed. For example, if a student observed a microaggression in one classroom
involving one professor of that university, it would be a hasty generalization to
conclude that most faculty at that college are insensitive or unwelcoming to
underrepresented students. That one faculty member’s words may be atypical and
not representative of the many other professors.

Oversimplifying the Issue

These fallacies tend to contain errors in logic or reasoning because they express
complex ideas in simplistic ways.
A false dilemma or false dichotomy creates a simple, either/or situation. While
these sorts of arguments might be catchy (and often create clever bumper
288 11 Arguing with Texts

stickers), they are not very thoughtful arguments. For instance, to suggest that
either students are allowed unrestricted speech or their First Amendment rights
are being violated is an oversimplification of the issue. Even under the First
Amendment, the right to free speech can be restricted, such as speech that incites
violence or threatens to harm another person.
A non sequitur suggests that one idea follows from the previous one, when
the relationship between ideas is not logical. Jonathan R. Alger, president of
James Madison University in Virginia, noted that President Trump’s executive
order to withhold federal research funds from colleges that did not allow free
speech seemed like a non sequitur. As Alger explained, “Tying grants to something
completely different—in this case, tying science to free speech—it seems like mix-
ing apples and oranges.”

RESPONDING TO COUNTERARGUMENTS
Because an argument is debatable, there will naturally be other positions on the
issue at the center of the argument. A position that is opposed to a writer’s claim
is called a counterargument (Figure 11.5). Often writers anticipate and respond
to likely counterarguments in a section of their writing. This strategy strengthens
the argument by showing that they understand possible objections and have good
reasons and evidence to reject those other positions. There are two main
approaches to presenting a counterargument: rebuttal and concession.

FIGURE 11.5 Counterargument in an Argument Essay

Counter-
Claim
argument

Rebuttal or
Reason Reason
Concession

Evidence Evidence Evidence Evidence Evidence Evidence

Identifying Rebuttal versus Concession

Whether you choose to rebut or concede an opponent’s argument depends on
the extent to which you agree or disagree with the other side’s position.
 Responding to Counterarguments 289

In presenting a counterargument, writers typically use the SOS (summary,

opinion, support) pattern of response, as follows:
1. Writing a brief summary of an opposing viewpoint: the counterargument.
Tip: Use key words and phrases that signal a writer is restating opposing
views, such as the following:
Critics hold the view that . . .
On the other hand . . .
Opponents say . . .
Others sometimes assert that . . .
Some people might argue . . .
While it may be true that . . .
Phrases like these are clues that a writer is summarizing the opposition’s
perspective.
2. Stating an opinion about the opposing viewpoint: concede or rebut.
• A rebuttal is an expression of disagreement with an opponent’s position.
Basically, you are saying the other side is wrong and then giving support
as to why that point of view is incorrect or false.
Imagine a writer who is trying to counter the argument that removing
Confederate monuments would be erasing history. Here is an example of
how the writer might begin to rebut that argument:
Example of a rebuttal: Arguing that removing Confederate monuments
is erasing American history is flawed because these symbols distort
history and celebrate a racist past.
• A concession, in contrast, involves an admission that your opponent has a
worthwhile point and is accompanied by an explanation of why your posi-
tion is still better. Essentially, you are saying, “Good point, but here is why
my point is better.” In this case, you must explain or demonstrate why your
position is stronger than your opponent’s position.
Consider how a writer might concede the argument that removing Con-
federate monuments would be erasing history in the next example.
Example of a concession: While it is true that removing Confederate
monuments would be altering American history, we can preserve that
history in other ways, such as by placing monuments in museums and
using them as teaching tools.
3. Offering support for that opinion: why the opposing view is wrong or why
your position is stronger. For instance, the examples of rebuttal and conces-
sion given earlier are just the beginning of counterarguments. Each statement
needs more support to convince readers of the position.
If you can deal successfully with compelling counterarguments, you will reinforce
your own position. Use “Strategies for Developing Counterarguments” to get started.
290 11 Arguing with Texts

Strategies for Developing Counterarguments

Summarize. Review readings that present views on the topic that you
disagree with. Summarize the claim, reasons, and evidence of an
opposing view.
List. Create a pro/con list of all the arguments you can think of on both
sides of a topic, along with evidence to support the arguments. Decide
which side you are on, and then select the strongest argument on the
other side for the counterargument.
Freewrite. Jot down the main reasons for the claim of your argument
and the evidence for those reasons. Then imagine how someone might
argue against each of your reasons or be critical of your evidence.
Brainstorm. Explain your claim to a classmate, friend, or family member.
Ask the person to respond to you with arguments, reasons, and
evidence against your position.

Where to Place a Counterargument

Once you have established the strongest arguments against your claim, consider
when to address these. A few basic strategies can be used to position the coun-
terargument in an essay.
1. Counterargument last. Present the claim supported by reasons and evidence;
then consider the counterarguments last. This can work well if your position
is strong; including a refutation or concession at the end of the argument
can further convince skeptical readers.
2. Argument|counterargument. Present your argument with reasons and evi-
dence; after each reason, present a counterargument and rebut or concede
that. This works well if there are several counterarguments against your posi-
tion, ones that “match up” with your reasons.
3. Counterargument first. If the argument against your position is strong, then
you may wish to begin with the counterargument. This gets the counterargu-
ment out of the way, so you can lay out your position with support.

Academic Style: “Although . . . Because” Claim

Crafting a strong thesis statement can help you, as a writer, focus on your main argument.

A clear thesis statement can also help readers understand the logic of your position. One

strategy for writing an argumentative claim that includes your position on the issue, supporting

reasons, as well as a counterargument, is to use the “although . . . because . . .” model.

continued
 Responding to Counterarguments 291

Here’s how this works:

1. First, state your position (claim) followed by the reasons for the claim. That is,

the claim comes first; then “because” introduces the reasons for the claim.
Claim
Example: Trigger warnings should not be used on syllabi because

these may keep students from engaging in intellectually challenging Reason 1

material, and because they are not the most effective means to Reason 2

deal with traumatic feelings.

2. Second, consider the strongest counterargument against your claim. Introduce

the counterargument before the claim with the word although.

Example: Although well intentioned to prevent student trauma,

Claim
trigger warnings should not be used on syllabi because these

may keep students from engaging in intellectually challenging Reason 1

material, and because they are not the most effective means Reason 2

to deal with traumatic feelings.

Here are a few caveats about the “although . . . because” claim:

• 
An “although . . . because” claim may—or may not—actually appear like this in an

essay. Use your own good judgment as to whether summing up your argument in

one sentence is the most effective means to present it to readers.

• 
Not every claim needs to be supported by three reasons. Use as many (or as few)

compelling reasons necessary to support the claim.

• 
Not every claim has one counterargument. Some may have several.
292 11 Arguing with Texts

EVALUATING AN ARGUMENT
The “Checklist for an Argument Essay” is an effective way to apply the criteria
for a strong argument to your own or anyone else’s work.

Checklist for an Argument Essay

 Does the claim take a position on a specific issue? Is the claim
argumentative and specific?
 Are there convincing reasons to support the claim—reasons that
will appeal to the audience?
 Is there sufficient and appropriate support? Is it clear how the
­support proves the reasons or the claim?
 Does the argument address strong counterarguments? Are these
counterarguments adequately summarized and dealt with through
rebuttal or concession?
Is the essay logically organized?
 Are the sentences clearly and correctly written? Are they varied
and concise?
Has the essay been proofread and the errors kept to a minimum?

Activity 11.1 Evaluate Prompts for Writing

an Argument Paper
Evaluate the writing topics by marking how interesting you find each one.
Check “Interesting topic,” “Maybe I could write on this topic,” or “Cannot relate
to this topic” for each prompt.

Solid Prompts
1. Have you ever felt that your ability to speak freely on campus was
restricted? If so, why? Describe an incident in which you felt you were not
able to express your ideas and argue why this was the case. You might
use Kevin Weis’s essay as a model for your own argument.

☐ Interesting topic
☐ Maybe I could write on this topic
☐ Cannot relate to this topic

2. Have you ever felt that your ability to speak freely in class was restricted?
If so, why? Give advice to classroom instructors explaining how they can
 Evaluating an Argument 293

ensure free speech among students in a classroom setting. You might use
Tyrone Fleurizard’s essay as a model for your own argument.

☐ Interesting topic
☐ Maybe I could write on this topic
☐ Cannot relate to this topic

3. Write a response to Kevin Weis or to Tyrone Fleurizard in which you rebut

or concede his main arguments.

☐ Interesting topic
☐ Maybe I could write on this topic
☐ Cannot relate to this topic

Challenge Choices These prompts are more challenging because they

require reading and research beyond the selections in this chapter.

4. Do you believe that offensive speech on college campuses should be

prohibited and punished? Why or why not?

☐ Interesting topic
☐ Maybe I could write on this topic
☐ Cannot relate to this topic

5. Do you believe that faculty should include trigger warnings on syllabi or

before lessons that contain potentially disturbing images or ideas?
Why or why not?

☐ Interesting topic
☐ Maybe I could write on this topic
☐ Cannot relate to this topic

6. Investigate whether your college campus has restrictions on students’

speech, such as speech codes or a free speech area. Then craft an
argument as to whether these restrictions are reasonable or whether
further restrictions are needed and why.

☐ Interesting topic
☐ Maybe I could write on this topic
☐ Cannot relate to this topic
294 11 Arguing with Texts

7. Investigate a controversial issue on your college campus. Then craft an

argument by stating your claim, providing reasons and support for your
claim, and addressing counterarguments.

☐ Interesting topic
☐ Maybe I could write on this topic
☐ Cannot relate to this topic

8. Investigate a controversial issue of your choice. Then craft an argument

by stating your claim, providing reasons and support for your claim, and
addressing counterarguments.

☐ Interesting topic
☐ Maybe I could write on this topic
☐ Cannot relate to this topic

Activity 11.2 Prewrite on a Topic

Follow the instructions in each exercise.
1. Select one of the essay topics from Activity 11.1 and do some prewriting on the
topic. In your prewriting, consider all sides of the argument. For instance, you
might create a pro (in favor of) and con (against) list as a way to get started.
2. Reread your prewriting and select the side you think is strongest. Write
a claim stating your position.
3. Reread your prewriting and look for reasons to support your claim. Either
include the reasons in your claim or list them separately.
4. Provide support for your reasons. For each reason, list at least two pieces
of support. Include at least two different types of support.
5. Using your ideas from exercises 1 through 4, create a graphic organizer
like the one shown in Figure 11.1 to illustrate your argument.

Pair and Share

Exchange your graphic organizers from Activity 11.2 (exercise 5) with a partner
and evaluate the argument.
1. Is the claim arguable, as opposed to a personal opinion? Is the claim
specific, as opposed to general? Provide specific suggestions to improve
the claim, if needed.
2. Do the reasons adequately support the claim? Can you suggest other
reasons that might strengthen the claim?
3. Does the support adequately prove the reasons and claim? Can you
suggest more support that might strengthen the argument?
 Evaluating an Argument 295

Activity 11.3 Develop an Argument

Review your responses to Activity 11.2, look again at the essay prompts in
Activity 11.1, and consider the Reading Selections in this chapter (if they are
relevant to your topic). Follow the instructions in each exercise.
1. Review your claim. Do you still hold your original position? If not, how
might you revise your claim?
2. Can you think of new or different reasons to support your claim? List any
new ideas you find.
3. Can you think of more or different support for your reasons? List any new
support you locate.
4. Write a body paragraph in which you develop one of your reasons (from
exercise 2) with support (from exercise 3). Organize the paragraph either
by starting with a reason and giving support or by starting with support
and leading to the reason. In either case, explain how the support proves
the reason.

Pair and Share

Exchange the body paragraph you wrote in Activity 11.3 (exercise 4) with a
partner and evaluate them.
1. What is strong about the paragraph? For instance, is the reason clear? Is
it supported with sufficient evidence and logical thinking?
2. What suggestions do you have to improve the paragraph? For instance,
could the writer add more evidence? Do you see any logical fallacies?

Activity 11.4 Develop a Counterargument

Review your responses to Activity 11.3. Follow the instructions in each exercise.
1. Use the “Strategies for Developing Counterarguments” to think of
arguments against your claim or reasons. List as many counterarguments
as you can think of.
2. Review your counterarguments from exercise 1. Then select the strongest
argument or arguments to include as the beginning of a counterargument.
3. Write a paragraph to add to your draft in which you (a) summarize an
argument against your position, (b) either rebut or concede that argument,
and (c) provide support for your position.

Pair and Share

Exchange the body paragraph you wrote in Activity 11.4 (exercise 3) with
a partner.
1. Consider the counterargument. Is the counterargument accurately
summarized?
296 11 Arguing with Texts

2. Check that the writer’s position is clear. Can you determine if the writer is
making a rebuttal or a concession?
3. Examine the support for the writer’s response to the counterargument. Is
there sufficient and convincing support for the writer’s position?

Activity 11.5 Draft an Argument Essay

Review the information about reading and writing arguments in this chapter and
use your work from the previous activities to complete the following exercises.
1. Using your answers from Activity 11.3, draft a complete argumentative
essay, including a claim and body paragraphs with reasons and support.
2. Add the counterargument you developed in Activity 11.4 to your draft.
Consider placing the counterargument toward the end or at the beginning
of the essay, or after one of the reasons.

Activity 11.6 Evaluate an Argument Essay

1. Review the information about reading and writing arguments in this chapter;
then use your work from the previous activities in this chapter to apply the
“Checklist for an Argument” to your essay draft. Evaluate your draft and
revise it in areas where it is weak.

Pair and Share

Exchange your argument essay draft with a classmate. Have that class-
mate apply the “Checklist for an Argument” to your essay draft.

CHAPTER REVIEW

Key Terms
ad hominem A fallacious argument that attacks the person, rather than
the issue at hand.
argument An attempt to persuade someone by giving reasons and sup-
port (evidence) for accepting a particular position.
claim The main idea of an argument; a claim takes a position on an issue.
concession An admission that an opponent in an argument has made a
strong point, accompanied by an explanation of why one’s own position
is better.
counterargument A position opposed to a writer’s or speaker’s claim.
 Chapter Review 297

deductive reasoning Arguing from a claim (in an essay) or a reason (in

a paragraph) and then presenting support for that claim or reason.
evidence Support for a claim.
false dilemma (or false dichotomy) To create a simplistic, either/or
situation.
faulty use of authority When the person being quoted to support an
argument has no authority on the topic.
hasty generalization An invalid conclusion drawn based on too little
evidence or too few examples.
inductive reasoning Arguing from evidence to reason (in a paragraph) or
claim (in an essay).
issue A topic about which people disagree.
logical fallacy Faulty reasoning in an argument.
non sequitur Wrongly suggest that one idea follows from the previous
one, when the relationship between ideas is not logical.
post hoc ergo propter hoc Wrongly assume because one event follows
another, the first event caused the second.
reason A statement that explains or justifies an opinion, event, or
action.
rebuttal An expression of disagreement with an opponent’s position,
supported by evidence that the opposing argument is incorrect or
false.
red herring A ploy that distracts attention from the real issue.
slippery slope A faulty argument that predicts a “doom and gloom” or
worst-case scenario will result with no evidence that one action will
lead to the next.
support Proof for a claim.

Chapter Summary
• An argument is not just a disagreement or a statement based on a
personal opinion; it is a judgment supported by reasons and evidence
for accepting a particular position.
• Being able to identify the various parts of an argument—claim, rea-
sons, support, and counterarguments—is the first step in understand-
ing or writing an argument.
• Recognizing the organizational pattern of an argument in paragraphs
and in essays will help you follow the author’s reasoning.
• Including a counterargument strengthens your argument by showing
that you understand possible objections and have sound reasons and
evidence to reject those other positions.
298 11 Arguing with Texts

• The same criteria that apply to arguments that you read also apply to
the arguments you write. Using a checklist is an effective way to
review those criteria.

Chapter Activities
Follow the instructions in each exercise.
1. Imagine your friend in college is assigned a paper that must be an
argument. That friend believes that by including a claim and convinc-
ing support, the argument will be effective. Write one or two para-
graphs explaining to your friend why including counterarguments will
strengthen the paper and how your friend can incorporate these into
the paper.
2. Locate a blog or newspaper opinion piece that presents an argument
on a current topic. Create a graphic organizer that identifies the
author’s claim, reasons, and evidence. Then in a paragraph, identify
and explain any logical fallacies the author makes.

Credits
pp. 277–278: Weis, Kevin. “A College Lecture on Confederate Statues Made Me Realize
I’m Squelching Free Speech on Campus.” Chicago Tribune, Digital Edition, 29 March 2019.
https://digitaledition.chicagotribune.com/tribune/article_popover.aspx?guid=21137841-7ade-
463b-a691-255a36f0dba5. Used with permission; pp. 283–285: Fleurizard, Tyrone. “3
Approaches for Confronting Microaggressions.” Inside Higher Ed, 20 July 2018. https://
www.insidehighered.com/advice/2018/07/20/how-deal-microaggressions-class-opinion.
Used with permission.
SPOTLIGHT ON
STUDENT WRITING
Argumentative Synthesis Essay
In Part 3, the chapters focused on reading and writing about multiple texts,
such as to compare texts, to synthesize readings, and to argue with sources.
These chapters also discussed how to summarize and quote from sources
and integrate information into your own writing.
In this Spotlight chapter, you will focus on reading to
• Analyze how students develop essays with a thesis. (Is the claim clear?)
• Analyze how students use support. (Is the claim supported with reasons
and evidence?)
• Analyze how students use quotations and summaries from various
sources. (Are the sources used well and properly cited?)

ANNOTATING AND ANALYZING STUDENT ESSAYS

What follows are two sample student papers for you to read and think
about. First, you will read a successfully annotated student paper. Then
you will have a chance to read and annotate a second student paper.
To explore the topic of sleep (the theme of the chapter “The Writing
Product”) students were encouraged to develop a research question,
locate and read various articles related to their research question, then
prepare a short report explaining their findings.
Writing Prompt: In your essay, you will explore and explain some
aspect of sleep. This paper requires you to develop a research
question and locate at least two reliable sources to answer your
question. Then you will write your findings up in a paper. You should
draw on at least two sources to support your answer. You may also
include your own or other people’s experiences. Your essay should
not simply be a narrative; it should include ideas from researched
sources in addition to your own ideas.
The essay directions include these additional requirements.
Requirements:
• Properly cite and document the sources you use in your paper using
MLA format.
• Write 750–1,000 words (4–5 pages).
As the title suggests, Xiaoyan Huo’s essay, “The Two Way Correlation
Between Sleep Disturbances and Dementia,” examines the relationship

299
 between sleep disorders and mental health problems. Renee Burke’s essay,
“Segmented Sleep: Nature vs. Nurture,” also deals with the issue of sleep
disturbances but looks at this problem from a fresh angle. Burke investi-
gates whether what we currently think of as disturbed sleep, such as wak-
ing up in the middle of the night, is actually a natural sleep pattern.
As you read, notice how each student focuses on and explains the
main idea of their paper; uses evidence, including examples, explana-
tions, summaries, and quotes, to support the main idea; and cites and
documents their sources.

STUDENT PAPER

Before Reading: Predict

Complete the following exercises.
1. Review the “Writing Prompt.” What does the writer need to do to cre-
ate a successful paper?
2. Read the “Requirements” for the essay assignment. What does the
writer need to do, in addition to addressing the prompt, to create a
successful paper?

Annotations for Annotations for

Analysis: Comprehension:

How effective is the Identify the Thesis,

writing? How can the Main Ideas, and
writing be improved? Burke 1 Support

Renee Burke

English 151RW
Heading in
Professor Kuehner MLA format

11 December 2020
Title suggests
Segmented Sleep: Nature vs. Nurture writer’s topic
and focus.
You open your eyes and glance at your phone. It’s 12:58 a.m. and in
Opening
details and your groggy half-asleep thought, you curse to yourself in your mind that you
descriptions
get reader’s are awake. Well, might as well go to the bathroom and get a sip of water, you
interest.
tell yourself. 15 minutes after that, you decide to pet your cat on the way
First para- back to bed. You get back to bed just before the warm spot no longer exists
graph is the
introduction. and before you lose too much sleepiness. As you lay down, before you drift

off again, you have thoughts that cross your mind. Yesterday was a beautiful

300
Effectively day. Pancakes sound great, can’t wait for breakfast. What woke me, you
focuses the
paper on
think as you doze off into an epic dream. Everyone has had this kind of night,
sleep patterns Thesis: States
but why? Our ancestors had a different sleep pattern than we do today. why some
by asking a
question, then people have
Perhaps these occasional nights are remnants of these old patterns, or sleepless
stating the
answer nights
maybe this is our natural circadian rhythm. While diving into the research,
Prepares I found a historian who dedicated his life to 16 years of research into
readers for
the evidence pre-industrial sleep patterns, a psychiatrist who studied Seasonal Affective
coming up in
the paper Disorder (SAD), and some writers who attempted to segment sleep.

Burke 2

Effective intro- Roger Ekirch is a historian from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Paragraph re-
duction of a lies primarily
source University who researched sleep patterns throughout history. He wrote “At on one source;
quotes and
Day’s Close: Night in Times Past” and a paper that preceded this book, summarizes
that source to
“Sleep We Have Lost: Pre-industrial Slumber in the British Isles.” In this paper, illustrate the
history of
he quotes a gentleman, Louis Stevenson, in 1878 who wrote in his journal segmented
sleep
during his hour of wakefulness between his first and second sleep, “At what

inaudible summons,” he wondered, “are all these sleepers thus recalled in

the same hour to life?” (Ekirch). Stevenson goes on pondering about the

wakefulness in the night and implies prayers to his God. Ekirch continues to

Good mix of dig into more journals, documents and navigate through the data that history
quotations
and summa- has scattered for us to find and piece it together. He writes during this hour
ries from the
source not only were people awake writing in journals and praying, but he finds

records they used the restroom, smoked tobacco, visited neighbors, made
love, but what was the most important thing he found was the importance of

recording and discussing their dreams (Ekirch). Ekirch read hundreds of

authors from poetry by Sir Philip Sidney to The Odyssey by Homer and

everything in between to understand the way of segmented sleep in the

earlier centuries. Ekirch noticed that as the industrial revolution continued to Main idea:
segmented
boom and thrive, the desire to practice segmented sleep dwindled. He sleep is no
longer a way
quoted author Joseph Lawson of 1887, “Society is now influenced more by of life
facts of art and science than dreams” (Ekirch). The dreams that were vital and

important to our ancestors, were nothing more than just that, dreams.

301
 Burke 3

A smoother Psychiatrist Thomas Wehr performed a study in the early 1990’s on

transition
photoperiods to understand Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD for short.
would be
helpful. For 30 days during this study, he subjected 18 volunteers to 14 hours of

darkness and 10 hours of daylight to mimic the winter months. The first three

weeks of the study, the volunteers were having trouble grappling with their

sleep schedule. By the fourth week, Wehr noticed something that shocked

both him, his colleagues, and sleep scientists. The volunteers’ sleep
Interesting schedule split into two sleeping blocks with a one- to three-hour wake period Main idea:
summary of evidence
research in between. Wehr’s research showed that the circadian rhythm was suggests seg-
mented sleep
“modified by the change in photoperiod.”
is natural
Tumbling down the rabbit hole of segmented sleep, I found David
This is a
strong transi- Allegretti from The Sydney Morning Herald and Jesse Barron of The New York
tion because it
Times. They both have experienced segmented sleep; one forcing themself Main idea
helps readers
that both men
understand
into the routine while the other slowly transitioned into the routine brought on have experi-
the flow of the
ence seg-
ideas.
by the intense city life. Barron, who lives in New York City, carries you through mented sleep

his transition of insomniac-fueled nights to a more quiet, peaceful rest. His

Strong use of
multiple journey and in return of the research he did in why he was falling into this
sources in one
sleep cycle was interesting and opened the doors to dive into Roger Ekirchs’
paragraph
research. Barron explains this mid-night wakefulness as “having a

superpower” and being able to write, read and be at peace. His story made
Engaging
transition that me want to attempt the forgotten sleep cycle, then I read David Allegretti’s
includes your
reactions story and all future challenges were called off. Allegretti’s journey was
everything short of peacefulness during the mid-night wakefulness. He brings Is it necessary
to use “you”?
you through his first week of mid-night feet dragging, where he had all these

goals he wanted to accomplish, but just scrolled through social media, curry

recipes and coronavirus videos (Allegretti). Halfway through his first week

feeling defeated he contacted Australian-American Sleep Physician Dr. David

Cunnington who expressed that biphasic sleep isn’t for everyone. Cunnington

goes on to explain to Allegretti that some people are naturals, and some

people must put in a lot of effort into this sleep pattern. Allegretti essentially

gave up after his first seven days and went back to a normal sleep schedule.

302
 Burke 4

Effective use So, historians say it has happened, doctors researched it, and we have Summarizes
of question (to
the research in
sum up) and a couple of writers who took on the challenge, but is segmented sleep good the paper up
answer (to set
to this point
up) to create a for you? It depends on what you do in those waking hours. Doctors suggest
transition
avoiding it if you intend to, or find yourself on your phone, computer, or Main idea:
segmented
Is there a watching television during the waking hours. You want to stimulate your sleep is good
source to cite or bad de-
for the doctors brain, but just slightly. Plenty of research shows reading a book before bed, pending on
or the how the wake
research? meditating, and low stimulating activities are best before bed, and it’s the time is used
same for the hours between your sleeping blocks.

Ekirch found that journaling dreams was most important, and perhaps

we can bring back journaling our dreams during segmented sleep. The four Remind read-
Two interest-
ing advan- sleep cycles will be split into two groups causing your body to be more ers of the four
tages of sleep cycles
segmented regenerative after the first block of sleep, and your brain being more
sleep
explained repaired after your second block of sleep. This leaves you to remember

more dreams and to be able to describe them in more vivid detail. Not only Main idea:
explains the
did Ekirch’s research suggest that segmented sleep can enhance dream positive as-
pects of seg-
journaling, but also conception. Doctors in the early 18th century claimed mented sleep
having sex during the waking hours between first and second sleep led to

higher rates of conception due to restfulness. Studies today show they were

right. The hormone prolactin, which is the hormone that enables female

mammals to produce breast milk, produces better at night. Releasing

prolactin at night encourages the estrogen and testosterone hormones to

release increasing the passion, and in turn increasing the conception rates.

In short, perhaps having sex in the middle of the night can help with couples

who struggle conceiving.

Clever strat- While segmented sleep is no longer as common as it once was, there Concluding
egy to bring paragraph
segmented are dozens of bloggers and YouTubers trying to tackle the challenge of
sleep into the Sums up re-
21st century segmented sleep. There is a whole subreddit on Reddit dedicated to tips search find-
ings: two
and tricks, reasons as to why people want to change their sleep schedule,
possible an-
and just curiosity into this unknown world of sleep. Maybe we sometimes swers to why
we sometimes
wake in the middle of the night because that is what our brain has been experience
segmented
hardwired to do for centuries until the Industrial Revolution came and we sleep

303
 Burke 5
Concise and
rewired our own brains. Is it possible that in today’s age of technology,
accurate sum-
chaotic fast paced lifestyle, and restless nights, can segmented sleep bring mary of the
information
us a sense of tranquility? and research
in the paper

Burke 6

Works Cited
Works Cited
Allegretti, David. “The Eight-Hour Sleep Myth? I Tried Our ‘Default’ Way and starts on a
List of sources new page.
alphabetized This is What I Learnt.” The Sydney Morning Herald, 2 May 2020, www
and written in
MLA style .smh.com.au/lifestyle/health-and-wellness/the-eight-hour-sleep-myth-i-tried-
our-default-way-and-this-is-what-i-learnt-20200417-p54kun.html.
Barron, Jesse. “Letter of Recommendation: Segmented Sleep.” The New
York Times Magazine, 31 May 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/04/03/
magazine/letter-of-recommendation-segmented-sleep.html.
Ekirch, Roger. “Sleep We Have Lost: Pre-industrial Slumber in the British
Isles.” 1 April 2001, sites.oxy.edu/clint/physio/article/
SleepWeHaveLostPre-industrialSlumberintheBritishIsles_
TheAmericanHistoricalReview_2001_Ekirch.pdf.
“Is Segmented (Polyphasic) Sleep Healthy – 6 Things That You Should
Know.” Sleep Advisor, 3 June 2020, www.sleepadvisor.org/
segmented-sleep/
Wehr, Thomas. “In Short Photoperiods, Human Sleep Is Biphasic.” June 1992,
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2869.1992.tb00019.x

After Reading: Evaluate the Paper

5. What is the writer’s thesis? Is it clearly written?
6. Examine the body paragraphs. Are the main ideas effectively sup-
ported with evidence, such as factual evidence, quotes from experts,
explanations, and examples? Do you think the student uses too much
of her own experience or opinions and not enough research?
7. Examine the use of quotations and summaries from the readings. Does
the writer use quotes and summaries effectively to support the main

304
  ideas? Are the sources of quotes and summaries identified and cor-
rectly cited?
8. What do you think are the most effective aspects of the student’s
essay? Be specific by referencing words or sentences, examples, or
paragraphs that you feel are especially strong and explaining why.
9. Are there any parts of the essay you feel could be improved? If so,
identify these specifically by referencing words or sentences, exam-
ples, or paragraphs and explaining how these could be stronger.
10. What aspects of this essay might you emulate in your own writing?

STUDENT PAPER
Now it is your turn to read and annotate a student paper. Read Xiaoyan’s
paper twice, using the annotation strategies you have learned (summa-
rized as follows) and the example of annotations on Burke’s paper to
guide you.
First Reading: Annotating for Comprehension: Note the title, highlight
main ideas, mark support, and write brief summaries in the margin.
Second Reading: Annotating for Analysis: Write comments evaluat-
ing the effectiveness of the title, introduction, thesis, topic sen-
tences, support, and conclusion. Notice, too, whether sources are
used well and properly cited, and whether the paper is correctly
formatted.

Before Reading: Predict

Write answers to these questions using complete sentences.
1. Look at the essay title. What aspects of sleep do you think the paper
will focus on?
2. Review the “Writing Prompt.” Then consider the following questions:
How much of the essay should be devoted to explaining other peo-
ple’s ideas? How much of the essay should be the student’s opinions,
experiences, or observations?

During Reading: Annotate; Analyze

3. As you read, underline the writer’s thesis, main ideas, and supporting
evidence. Identify the introduction, body paragraphs, topic sentences,
and the conclusion. Analyze how effective the different parts of the
paper are.
4. As you read, notice where the writer introduces and cites quotes or
examples from the readings and how she creates a Works Cited page.
Consider whether the citations and documentation are correct and
whether the paper is properly formatted.

305
 Huo 1

Xiaoyan Huo
Professor Kuehner
English 151RW
10 November 2020

The Two Way Correlation Between Sleep

Disturbances and Dementia

A few years ago, when I read Lisa Genova’s novel Still Alice, it was
my first time closely observing what life looks like for an Alzheimer’s
patient. Alice, a cognitive psychology professor at Harvard, had a
perfect life until she was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s in her
late 40s. As her illness progressed, she couldn’t recognize her loved
ones, and she had excessive daytime sleepiness and frequent nighttime
awakenings. Indeed, poor sleep is especially common among people
with dementia, and as many as 70% of patients in early-stage dementia
have sleep issues (Wennberg). This connection raises the question of
how disrupted sleep is linked to cognitive decline and dementia. In the
article “Sleep and Mild Cognitive Impairment,” the authors state “Sleep
disturbances in quality and quantity of sleep, as well as disruption of the
sleep-wake rhythm, occur frequently in older adults with cognitive
impairment and there is growing support for a bidirectional relationship”
(Cassidy-Eagle and Siebern). In short, sleep disturbances and cognitive
impairment among older adults have a strong and “bidirectional”
correlation, and they go hand in hand.
When people get older, they often suffer from sleep disorders.
Along with the body, the inner master biological clock in the brain also
ages, which is in charge of forming the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN).
The SCN controls circadian rhythms that signal the body when to
undergo certain biological processes. As biological clocks get older,
circadian rhythms are altered (Newson). Furthermore, older adults
generally have insufficient exposure to daylight and less secretion of
melatonin, one of the hormones related to sleep, and thus, normal
circadian rhythms become harder to maintain (Newson). Certain heart,

306
 Huo 2

blood pressure, and asthma medications can also make it difficult for the
elderly to sleep. As a result, about 40% to 70% of older adults have
chronic sleep problems such as insomnia, daytime drowsiness, sleep
apnea, restless leg syndrome, and rapid eye movement sleep behavior
disorder (Newson).
Disturbed sleep contributes to impaired thinking and declines in
memory. According to Courtney Roberts’ article “To Sleep or not to
Sleep: That is the College Student’s Eternal Question,” sleep not only
has a “restorative function” which removes neurotoxic waste from the
brain and restores the mental state, but also has “memory consolidation”
function during slow-wave sleep and REM sleep, which are the stages of
essential deep sleep (122). In other words, sleep plays a crucial role in
learning and memory across the lifespan. A study tested memory
performance in older adults after simulation increased their slow-wave
sleep, and found that they had significant improvements in memory tests
(Cassidy-Eagle and Siebern). This result proves that longer slow-wave
sleep benefits memory; lack of it hurts memory. In fact, not only is
memory struck by poor sleep. Researchers also study consequences of
sleep disturbances and cognitive decline, such as loss of memory, lack
of attention, worse executive functioning, and impaired problem solving
skills. They reveal that there is a strong connection observed between
sleep disturbances and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), regardless of
MCI subtype (Cassidy-Eagle and Siebern). It is clear that all the subtypes
of MCI are impacted by disrupted sleep. Moreover, another convincing
research studied the association between cognitive decline and sleep
duration among 100,000 middle-aged and older-aged individuals. The
groups sleeping four hours or less and 10 hours or more were found to
have an accelerated cognitive decline than the group sleeping seven
hours (Gramigna). This finding confirms that both insufficient and
excessive sleep have a negative effect on reasoning.
Poor sleep may increase the risk of cognitive decline and dementia.
Conversely, people with cognitive decline and dementia “exhibit an
elevated rate of sleep disturbances” (Wennberg). Scientists do not
completely understand the underlying mechanisms of dementia’s impact

307
 Huo 3

on sleep disorders. Neurodegenerative brain diseases have the

potential to worsen patients’ sleep disturbances because they could
either damage brain cells or change brains to disrupt sleep. A study
shows that one indication of Alzheimer’s patients is a higher level of
deposition of a harmful chemical named Amyloid Beta in the brain. This
chemical can make slow-wave sleep shorter and more fragmented
(Cassidy-Eagle and Siebern). Therefore, sleep disruptions could result
from the damage of Alzheimer’s on the brain. Similarly, because MCI
could cause change in the part of a patient’s brain responsible for
maintaining sleep pattern, MCI patients share the common symptom of
abnormal Circadian (Cassidy-Eagle and Siebern). Thus, sleep disruptions
also could result from the change of sleep pattern caused by MCI.
Furthermore, different dementia subtypes are directly linked to a
different sleep disorder; for instance, daytime drowsiness and rapid eye
movement sleep behavior disorder are associated with Lewy Body and
Parkinson’s, accordingly (Cassidy-Eagle and Siebern). This finding is
indirect evidence that dementias possibly interfere with sleep.
Consequently, sleep disturbances associated with dementias tend to get
worse over time, similar to how dementia’s other symptoms get worse
during later stages.
Sleep disturbances and cognitive impairment have a strong association,
and each play a part in fueling the other. As a result, poor sleep may be an
early sign of cognitive decline; poor sleep also could be an inevitable symptom
of late stage dementia. Alice happened to fall into the second category
because her disease is genetic and gradually invaded her brain. Hence, her
early marker was only memory loss, but ultimately and unfortunately, she
suffered from both cognitive decline and sleep disturbance.

308
 Huo 4

Works Cited
Cassidy-Eagle, Erin, and Allison Siebern. “Sleep and Mild Cognitive
Impairment.” Sleep Science and Practice, Article number: 15,
18 July 2017, https://sleep.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/
s41606-017-0016-5#author-information
Gramigna, Joe. “Insufficient, Excess Sleep May Cause Cognitive
Decline among Middle-, Older-Aged People.” Healio, 25 Sep.
2020, https://www.healio.com/news/psychiatry/20200925/
.insufficient-excess-sleep-may-cause-cognitive-decline-among-
middle-olderaged-people
Newson, Rob. “Aging Effects Sleep.” 23 Oct, 2020, https://www
.sleepfoundation.org/aging-and-Sleep
Roberts, Courtney. “To Sleep or Not to Sleep: That Is the College
Student’s Eternal Question.” Writing to Read, Reading to
Write, by Alison Kuehner, McGraw Hill, 2019, p. 122.
Wennberg, Alexandra M.V. et al. “Sleep Disturbance, Cognitive
Decline, and Dementia: A Review.” MPC, 24 Aug. 2017,
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5910033/

After Reading: Evaluate the Paper

5. What is the writer’s thesis? Is it clearly written?
6. Examine the body paragraphs. Are the main ideas effectively sup-
ported with evidence, such as factual evidence, quotes from experts,
explanations, and examples? Do you think the student uses too much
of her own experience or opinions and not enough research?
7. Examine the use of quotations and summaries from the readings.
Does the writer use quotes and summaries effectively to support the
main ideas? Are the sources of quotes and summaries identified and
correctly cited?
8. W
 hat do you think are the most effective aspects of the student’s
essay? Be specific by referencing words or sentences, examples, or
paragraphs that you feel are especially strong and explaining why.
9. Are there any parts of the essay you feel could be improved? If so,
identify these specifically by referencing words or sentences, exam-
ples, or paragraphs and explaining how these could be stronger.
10. What aspects of this essay might you use in your own writing?

309
 Spotlight Activities
1. Did you feel that one of the sample student papers was more effec-
tively written than the other, or were they equally effective? Explain
your answer.
2. If you are currently working on a piece of writing for your English class
or for any other subject, annotate and analyze the writing. Identify the
main ideas and examples; then review the writing to examine the
introduction, body paragraphs, use of support, conclusion, and cita-
tions. Use your annotations to help you evaluate and improve the
writing.
3. What have you learned about analyzing student writing from reading
this chapter, examining the annotated student paper, and annotating
a student paper?
4. What have you learned about writing an effective essay synthesizing
sources from studying the two student papers in this chapter?

Credits
pp. 300–304: Burke, Renee. “Segmented Sleep: Nature vs. Nurture.” 11 December 2020.
Used with permission; pp. 306–309: Huo, Xiaoyan. “The Two Way Correlation Between
Sleep Disturbances and Dementia.” 10 November 2020. Used with permission.

310